Pete Nowlen

DePaul ’86

For me, the greatest thing about studying with Jon was getting to play together. It was so easy to get inside his sound-and to feel the direction he wanted to go. I swear he can lead telepathically. Then there was hearing him perform. His performances at Lyric at a time when they had a 4 horn section-no assistant-were unbelievable. Then I got to hear his Jan Bach recital at the 2009 IHS conference and heard technical virtuosity that I never knew he possessed. I always tell my west coast colleagues he’s the best kept secret of horn.