Performer

A performance is a conversation - with the music, with the room, with everyone listening.

Kristina Mascher-Turner is known above all for her warm, resonant sound and her gift for lyrical, poetic storytelling on the horn. Whether as orchestral principal, chamber partner, or soloist, she brings to the stage a charismatic presence that reaches outward - drawing audiences into the musical experience rather than presenting it at a distance. Her playing is shaped by more than thirty years at the center of European musical life and a performing career that has taken her to concert halls, festivals, and symposia on six continents.

Versatility and sensitivity define her as a collaborator. In chamber music especially, her presence and awareness - honed through decades with the American Horn Quartet, the Virtuoso Horn Duo, and Luxembrass - are felt as much as heard. She brings the same qualities to the orchestral and solo stage: an expressive directness, a commitment to communication, and the conviction that every piece of music has a story worth telling fully.

“Joy and confident expertise.”

— Australian press, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Brisbane (2010)

A Moment on Stage

We had just finished the Schumann Konzertstück for four horns and orchestra with the Richmond Symphony - a joyful, high-energy performance, the kind that ends in fireworks. We returned to the stage for our encore: our arrangement of Bach’s Air on the G String.

We gave the audience a moment to settle into the silence before we began. And as the first phrase moved from the stage into the hall, I felt it - a deep calmness emanating from the phrasing, from the sound of four horns finding the space together, from something in the room itself. The audience was completely still. The music was simply there, moving through all of us.

It was one of those rare moments when performing becomes something else - an act of opening. We opened ourselves, and the hall opened with us, and Bach’s music filled every corner of it. Those are the performances I live for.

— American Horn Quartet with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra

Chamber Music

American Horn Quartet

Member since 2009 · Six continents · Ten albums

The American Horn Quartet - described by the American Record Guide as “the finest brass chamber ensemble in the world” - has been Kristina’s primary chamber home since 2009. Entering its fifth decade, the AHQ has brought audiences to their feet at venues including the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, the Tonhalle in Zürich, and featured appearances at International Horn Society symposia from Brisbane to London to Los Angeles to Montreal. Kristina and her colleagues have toured North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South Africa, performing hundreds of concerts and recording for the Naxos, Albany Records, and MSR Classics labels.

“Artistry of the first order.”

— The Horn Call

Luxembrass

Member since 2004

First Prize · 9th International Competition for Brass Ensembles, Passau

As a core member of Luxembrass - prize-winners at the prestigious Passau International Chamber Music Competition for Brass Ensembles - Kristina has toured and performed throughout continental Europe and the United Kingdom, including specially designed pedagogical residencies within the International School system.

Virtuoso Horn Duo

With Kerry Turner · 2002–2023

For two decades, Kristina co-led the Virtuoso Horn Duo with her husband, composer Kerry Turner - an ensemble that took them from the concert halls of Singapore, Cape Town, Prague, and Rome to a residency at the Beijing Conservatory as part of the 2nd China Horn Festival. Their disc of concertos for two horns and chamber orchestra on MSR Classics received widespread critical praise. The duo retired from active performing in 2023 following Kerry Turner’s retirement from performance.

“Kristina Mascher and Kerry Turner are indeed virtuosos of the first rank.”

— Classical Music Guide

Recent Highlight

Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival

32nd Season · March 2026 · Leo Rich Theater, Tucson, Arizona

Kristina was among the featured artists at the 32nd season of the Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival - widely regarded as one of the finest chamber music festivals in the world. Performing across five concerts alongside an exceptional roster of colleagues, she brought the horn’s full expressive range to programmes spanning Brahms, Mozart, Turner, Harbison, and a landmark world premiere by Michi Wiancko.

Fellow artists included: Goldmund Quartet · David Fung, piano · Jeewon Park, piano · Axel Strauss, violin · Clara Neubauer, violin/viola · Paul Neubauer, viola · Jakob Taylor, cello

Orchestral Career

Kristina’s orchestral career has been centered in Europe, where she has served as principal horn, guest principal, and section player with some of the continent’s leading ensembles. She spent six years as principal horn of the Brussels Philharmonic and sixteen years as a regular guest with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, including five years on a full-time contract. Earlier in her career she toured three times as principal horn with the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester under Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez, and Kent Nagano. She continues to be active as a guest artist with orchestras across the Benelux region and beyond.

Brussels Philharmonic — Principal Horn · 1999–2005

Luxembourg Philharmonic — Regular guest · 16 years, incl. 5 years full-time

Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester — Principal Horn · Three tours under Abbado, Boulez & Nagano · 1998-1999

Orchestre de Chambre du Luxembourg — Solo Horn · 2010–2012

Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra — Guest artist

Belgian National Orchestra — Guest artist

La Monnaie / De Munt — Guest artist

Antwerp Symphony Orchestra — Guest artist

Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège — Guest artist

Orchestre Nationale de France — Guest artist

Odense Symfoniorkester — Section horn · 1998–1999

Selected Festival Appearances

Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival — Arizona, USA · 2026

Davos Festival — Switzerland · 2000

Fredener Musiktage — Germany · 2012, 2016

International Chamber Music Festival Wassenaar — Netherlands · 2019

Alba International Festival — Italy · 2011

Chintimini Chamber Music Festival — Oregon, USA · 2013, 2016

Brass Explosion Festival — Singapore · 2011

Sydney International Brass Festival — Australia

Melbourne International Brass Festival · 2004

Thailand International Brass & Percussion Conference — Thailand

2nd International Panama Horn Festival — Panama · 2019

Montreal Horn Festival — Canada · 2017

Sauerländer Horntage — Germany · several appearances

IHS Symposia (Featured Artist) — Brisbane · London · Los Angeles · Kingsville · Montreal · Kraków (July 2026)

En Cors et Encore Festival — Normandy, France · several appearances

Recordings

Kerry Turner: Complete Works for Horn, Vol. 1

Naxos 8.579050 · 2020

Kristina performs works composed specifically for her, alongside Kerry Turner and Frank Lloyd, horns; Lauretta Bloomer, piano. Includes Candles in the Darkness, Op. 86 - written for Kristina - alongside the Horn Sonata, Couperin Variations, and other chamber works.

En-Cor!

Albany Records TROY1536 · American Horn Quartet · 2014

A collection of encores and gems from the AHQ’s performing life - Bach, Bernstein, Gershwin, and more. Kristina’s first recording as a member of the American Horn Quartet.

Virtuoso Horn Duo - Works for 2 Horns and Chamber Orchestra

MSR Classics · Kerry Turner & Kristina Mascher · Sinfonietta Cracovia · Dariusz Wisniewski, conductor

Haydn, Rosetti, Vivaldi, and Turner. Widely praised on release.

Additional recordings as a member of the American Horn Quartet are available on the Naxos, Albany Records, and MSR Classics labels.

Kristina performs on a Ricco Kühn W393X triple horn.

For performance bookings: horngoddess@gmail.com

AHQ bookings: dan@viscontiarts.com · viscontiarts.com