Adam Unsworth is Professor of Horn at the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance. Prior to his appointment in Ann Arbor, Adam was a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra (1998-2007) and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (1995-1998). He has toured Asia and Europe with the San Francisco Symphony, is a frequent guest with the Detroit Symphony. Currently he serves as Principal Horn of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and is a member of the Bay Area horn quartet, Quadre.

Adam has five recordings as a leader to his credit Balance (2014), a jazz recording for horn, jazz sextet and chamber orchestra, Snapshots (2013), a recording of contemporary classical music in collaboration with composer/pianist Catherine Likhuta, Just Follow Instructions (2009), featuring the chamber music of saxophonist/composer Daniel Schnyder, Next Step (2008) and Excerpt This! (2006) – jazz recordings which received critical acclaim from both jazz and classical reviewers. He was soloist on the premiere of Mondrian’s Studio, a concerto by Paul Dooley for horn and wind ensemble, and the premiere recording of Dana Wilson’s Concerto for Horn and Wind Ensemble with the University of Michigan Symphony Band.

Adam is a member of the New York based Gil Evans Centennial Project, which has received two Grammy nominations for its’ recordings Centennial and Lines of Color, and won the 2013 Jazz Journalist Association Award for Large Jazz Ensemble of the Year. He is also part of Japanese big band leader Miho Hazama’s M-Unit Band and has appeared on her most recent Grammy nominated recordings, Dancer in Nowhere and Time River. He has been as guest musician with new music ensembles Alarm Will Sound, the Meridian Arts Ensemble, Ensemble Signal, Ensemble Linea, and the Slee Sinfonietta.

A former faculty member at Temple University, Adam has appeared as a recitalist and clinician at many universities across the United States, and has made several solo and chamber appearances at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. Unsworth received his formal training at Northwestern University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Rachel Childers has been a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 2011. As Second Horn of the BSO, she occupies the John P. II and Nancy S. Eustis chair. She is notably the first female member of the Boston Symphony brass section. Prior to moving to Boston, Ms. Childers was the Acting Assistant Principal/Utility Horn of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. She also held several positions in orchestras throughout California, affectionately referred to as the Freeway Philharmonic. Rachel holds the distinction of being in the first class of admitted horn players to the Colburn School, in Los Angeles, where she studied with David Jolley and David Krehbiel. Rachel received her bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Michigan, where she studied with Søren Hermansson. During her time at U of M she enjoyed performing with both the Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony Band, where she began her college career as Horn 4B under director H. Robert Reynolds.

Ms. Childers is devoted to education initiatives in her community. Her interest in this work began when she was a teaching artist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where she was partnered with underserved schools in the Los Angeles area. She continues this line of work with the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Education Department. She is particularly proud of her involvement in the implementation of the “BSO In Residence” project; an initiative directed at her adopted community of Jamaica Plain, MA. Ms. Childers also develops and performs programs for the BSO’s “Concerts for Very Young People” at local libraries and children’s museums.

Currently on faculty at the New England Conservatory of Music, Rachel has also taught at Boston University and has presented masterclasses at the Manhattan School, Mannes School of Music, the University of Michigan, Colburn School, and Boston Conservatory. In 2014, she was a featured artist at the Southeast Horn Workshop at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a visiting artist at the University of Montana. Ms. Childers has taught at the Tanglewood Music Center, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and Bar Harbor Brass Week. She and her husband Sam, a bassoonist, have two lovely children with great pitch and volume.