Abby Black is a Chicago-based horn teacher and freelancer and is the newest member of Axiom Brass. She is currently the Third Horn with The Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra and is in the Millar Brass Ensemble. She also serves as the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras Debut Orchestra Winds and Brass Coach.
Abby has performed with numerous premiere ensembles across the country, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, Rochester Philharmonic, Syracuse-based Symphoria, the Rockford Symphony Orchestra, the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, Peoria Symphony Orchestra, and the Gargoyle Brass Ensemble. Additionally, she has made guest appearances as principal horn with the Chicago Opera Theater, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, and Racine Symphony Orchestra. Abby was also a Regular Member and Horn Fellow with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago from 2019-2022 under the baton of Ken-David Masur.
As an educator, Abby enjoys working with young musicians throughout the Chicago area. During her Fellowship with Civic, Abby worked directly with Chicago Public Schools, leading sectionals for educational side-by-side orchestra performances. She co-created a Chamber Music Seminar at The Mather High School for beginner High School students that will continue this year. This seminar involved coordinating and teaching weekly coachings with professional musicians that cumulated in a performance for parents and a visit to Symphony Center. Abby was also on the core leadership team for Civic’s involvement with CSO Connect in 2021 and 2022. These projects involved creating video and in-person interactive educational performances by the Civic Fellows for Chicago Public School Students.
Abby received her Bachelor of Music in Performance and Music Education with a Performer’s Certificate at the Eastman School of Music and her Master’s Degree and Post-Master’s Certificate at DePaul University. In past summers, she attended the Chautauqua Music Festival, National Music Festival, Brevard Music Festival, and Kendall Betts Horn Camp. Her teachers include Jim Smelser, Oto Carrillo, W. Peter Kurau, Daniel Gingrich, Neil Kimel, Roger Kaza, William Caballero, Hazel Dean Davis, Derek Conrad, and Jonathan Boen.
Abby lives in the Edgewater neighborhood with her two adorable cats, Jiji and Dora. In her spare time, she loves roasting and drinking coffee.
Abby is a Conn Artist and performs exclusively on Mutec Mutes.
