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Rana Jurjus

Horn | Director of Strategic Partnerships

 

Rana Jurjus is a recent graduate from Carnegie Mellon University. She holds her Masters degree in French horn performance from CMU, and a Bachelors of music from Baldwin Wallace University. She is an active freelance French hornist throughout Pittsburgh, and when she’s not performing with The Brass Roots, you can find her subbing with the Canton Symphony, Westmoreland Symphony, Youngstown Symphony, and other groups in, and around Pittsburgh. She has performed in a multitude of ensembles and summer festivals, including the Sewanee Summer Music Festival in Tennessee, the National Music Festival in Maryland, and the Brevard Summer Festival in North Carolina. She also spent two summers playing with the Ohio Light Opera.

 

Rana recently joined TRYPO and PYC as their new shared office coordinator at the beginning of their 2017-2018 season. When she’s not playing horn, she loves to play video games, cook up interesting and healthy recipes (and then blog about it), and play racquetball.

Deborah McDowell

Horn

 

Originally from Olean, NY, Debbie has performed extensively in the Pittsburgh area and beyond. In addition to being an original member of the Brass Roots, she currently serves as a member the Butler County Symphony Orchestra and the Aeolian Winds of Pittsburgh. She has also performed with the Westmoreland Symphony, Wheeling Symphony, Youngstown Symphony, Johnstown Symphony, and the Academy Chamber Orchestra. 

Deborah attended the Bowdoin International Music Festival on fellowship, received a scholarship to study at the Pierre Monteux School for two summers, and played the Corno Obligatto part in Mahler's Fifth Symphony at the National Music Festival. Debbie received degrees in horn from Carnegie Mellon University and Youngstown State University. Her principal teachers were Steve Kostyniak of the Pittsburgh Symphony, and Bill Slocum, formerly of the Cleveland Symphony.

In addition to performing and teaching, Debbie enjoys spending time with her two precious Pomeranians, renovating her house, playing piano, and teaching some of the most animated and talented young students in Pittsburgh. 

Carrie McCormack

Horn

Hailing from Indianapolis, Indiana, Carrie McCormack is a freelance horn player in the greater Pittsburgh area. She has performed with the Pittsburgh, Canton, Akron, Westmoreland, and Ohio Valley Symphony Orchestras as well as Aeolian Winds, Pittsburgh Chamber Orchestra, Resonance Works|Pittsburgh, and the Academy Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh. Carrie also has extensive opera experience, most recently as a member of the Ohio Light Opera orchestra during its 2014 season.

Carrie holds a Master of Music degree and an Advanced Musical Studies certificate from Carnegie Mellon University, where her primary teachers were Stephen Kostyniak and Bill Caballero. She earned her bachelor’s degree in horn performance from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, studying with Randy Gardner.

 

Carrie spends most of her days (and nights) working as the interim assistant librarian for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, she enjoys teaching the next generation of horn players. She has served as staff at the Kendall Betts Horn Camp in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and she currently teaches private horn lessons at Johnstonbaugh’s Music Center in Gibsonia. In whatever free time is left, Carrie enjoys playing video games with her wonderful husband, cooking (and eating), and knitting.

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