Master Clinician

Mr. Boen is available for a wide range of master call, workshops, and demonstrations. He is happy to work with you to custom design a session based on your needs or you can select from one of the following from his popular offerings:

Use this form to inquire about engaging Mr. Boen as a clinician.


A unique method of excerpt studies through original horn quartet arrangements of common orchestral and operatic excerpts by Jonathan Boen. These arrangements are customized to bring into awareness basic rhythm and pitch misconceptions. Participants experience these aspects in a unique manner, and as a result gain a more complete understanding of how the solo excerpt fits into the big picture. Everyone experiences the both the accompaniment and melody line in each arrangement, which allows the performer to transfer the awareness into a more convincing and complete audition presentation. I’ve observed from my teaching experience that students often prepare their audition material in the vacuum of the practice room without much consideration for the relationship of the melodic line to the vertical aspects of pitch and rhythm. This method helps put the concepts together in a unique way that horn players love..and it’s fun!

walkure rheingold


Presented at the 2009 IHS Convention in Macomb, IL:
An essential topic in my career. During my first eight years at the Lyric Opera, the horn section consisted of four players-no assistant! It was almost Darwinian on my part…adapt or become extinct, as in unemployed. I would get help in the form of an extra player for the larger works of Wagner, Strauss or perhaps Shostakovich or Tchaikovsky, but I was on my own for everything else.Through this experience I learned the importance of efficiency.Elements of this workshop:

  • Posture (Alexander concepts)
  • Breathing technique
  • Embouchure mechanics
  • Sensible warm-ups and maintenance
  • Playing by “sound,” not by “feel”
  • Health (nutrition, exercise, rest, hydration, stress relief)

Boen and Student
Boen and Student

 

I have listened to at least 2,500 professional auditions in my career. This gives me a clear perspective of the criteria that audition panels expect. There is a great need is to bridge the gap between the perception of the auditionee’s performance and the reality of the audition committee’s observations.

Preparation and Presentation

  • Organization
  • How to isolate and solve technical issues
  • Recognizing and repairing pitch and rhythm issues
  • Phrasing, finding the emotional message
  • Tone color, being in the appropriate character

Boen and Students
Boen and Students

Applying Alexander concepts:

  • Recognizing and managing the startle reflex
  • Posture awareness
  • Maintaining control of breath
  • Repose breathing exercises
  • Releasing tension with each inhalation
  • Concentration exercises
  • Yoga for “non-yoga” people

Boen Masterclass
Boen Masterclass


Most students graduate from their university with little or no experience on the Wagner tuba. Often, the first contact with this “beast” is being asked to perform as an extra player with an established organization. This happened to me in 1983 when I was asked to play 6th horn/2nd Wagner tuba on Das Rheingold with Solti and the CSO, which included performances at Carnegie Hall. Needless to say, I would have benefited from some previous study on these awkward instruments.Because of my experience of being thrown into the wild with the “beast”, I made the decision to teach an annual Wagner Tuba class at DePaul and now continue the tradition at Northwestern University. Students learn how to manage these fickle and often inferior instruments, focusing on pitch and response issues. Materials studied include an overview of “Ring” passages and Bruckner symphonies.

Wagner tuba ensemble
Wagner tuba ensemble