2026 Northwest alphorn workshop and festival

 Yannick Wey is a Senior Research Associate at the Competence Center for Music Education Research at Lucerne School of Music, Switzerland. He received a BA and an MA in Trumpet Performance from Zurich University of the Arts and a PhD in Musicology from the University of Innsbruck. In his PhD thesis, he analyzed the musical transcription of the Alpine yodel and related wordless song and the interactions between their oral and written traditions. His current projects inhabit the spaces between ethnography, music analysis, and performance. He plays the traditional wind instruments of the Alpine region, the Alphorn and Büchel. His research has appeared in Analytical Approaches to World Music, Music & Science, The Galpin Society Journal, Musicologist, and the Swiss Yearbook for Musicology. 

 Jim Hopson is a JUNO Award-nominated trombonist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and educator based in Vancouver, BC, Canada. He has been called a music industry ‘Game Changer’, and his body of work as a performer crosses every genre and includes tours and appearances (live & recorded) all over the world. A dedicated educator, he has taught private lessons and clinics to thousands of young musicians, and has conducted student ensembles of all ages and abilities. He is a first-call arranger for bands and orchestras throughout BC, and his arrangements have been featured on numerous albums, TV shows, and films. His two studio albums ‘West Coast Nights’ (2015) and ‘Generations’ (2018) are available on Bandcamp and in our Store. 

  William G. Rose is Associate Professor of Music (low brass and jazz) at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, LA. He has recently been appointed Artistic Director/Conductor of the Lake Charles Symphony where he previously served as principal trombonist for 38 years; is principal trombonist for the Rapides Symphony Orchestra (Alexandria, LA) and has performed as principal trombone/bass trombone/euphonium with many orchestras, bands and big bands across the country. Professor Rose has served as a clinician and performed at the Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts Biennial Convocation, the International Trombone Association Festival, the New York Brass Conference, the Big 12 Trombone Conference, and the International Horn Society Festival, as well as regional and state festivals and conferences throughout the United States. He is a Yamaha Performing Artist and a 2014 Melodious Accord Composition Fellow.

In 2017 and 2022, he competed at the Festival International des Cor de Alps in Nendaz, Switzerland, and had compositions for alphorn solo and quartet performed. In 2018 he founded the McNeese State University Alphorn Ensemble, the first University alphorn ensembles in the United States offered for credit (no longer the only!). He has served as one of the instructors of the Northwest Alphorn Workshop and the Midwest Alphorn Retreat. Many of his original alphorn works have been commissioned for and been performed at International Horn Society symposiums in 2013 (Memphis, TN), 2019 at (Ball State, Muncie, IN), 2022 (Texas A&M, Kingsville, TX), and most recently in 2025 at IHS 57 (James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA). 

A prolific composer and arranger in multiple genres, his works are published by Abingdon Press, GIA Music, James Cliff Music, Ascenda Music, Cherry Classics, Warwick Music, Fred Bock Music, Editions BIM, Ensemble Publications, Wayne Leupold Editions, Cimarron Music Press, Gulfwind Music, and Treble C Music. His alphorn compositions and arrangements (including his most recent 2025 publications (Vol. 3, “Warmups and Simple Songs” and Vol. 4, “Compositions for Alphorn: Solos, Duos, Trios and Quartets”) are published by Treble C Music. he currently serves as Newsletter Editor for the Alphorn Association of North America.

“The alphorn connects us to the mountains, and the heritage of family – the sound of the wind through the passes, and the cows grazing on the hillsides and in the meadow – through the warmth of its’ sound, which bonds deep in the soul.”

Dr. Peggy DeMers is an alphorn and horn performer. As an undergraduate, she was invited to perform the alphorn solo from Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 at an International Horn Symposium, prior to owning an instrument. Her early success led to a trip to Switzerland, where she performed for Josef Molnar, was introduced to the works of Jean Daetwyler, and acquired alphorns from Josef Stocker and Ernst Josef Schüpbach.

     As co-founder of the Midwest Alphorn Retreat (2009), she has led workshops and performed across North America and Europe. She has also brought participants to the Cor des Alpes Festival in Nendaz, Switzerland. She has commissioned new works for both solo and ensemble, as well as for multiple keyed alphorns.

     In 2022, she earned second place in the International Cor des Alpes Competition in Switzerland. Her 2023 book, The Little Alphorn Book, is an English translation of the Swiss German classic by A. L. Gassmann, making historical alphorn music accessible through modern notation. Her performance venues include the world premiere of the new solo alphorn work There and Back by Douglas Hill at the International Horn Symposium in 2025, the Swiss Embassy, Anaheim Disney Oktoberfest, and Sigma Alpha Iota’s national event. She was featured in AAA Magazine and Minnesota American Traveler, and she continues to lead workshops and performances across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Her recordings are available on MSR Classics and YouTube.
“To play the Alphorn is to breathe peace into the world. Its tone stretches across valleys and sky, quieting the mind and stirring something ancient and eternal within the soul.”  

Trained as a classical singer, Stasia Forsythe Siena specializes in the Alexander Technique for musicians. She holds degrees from Georgetown University and Indiana University and received her Alexander Technique certification from Joan and Alexander Murray at the Urbana Center for the Alexander Technique, later serving as Co-Director of UCAT’s teacher training program. Of particular note in Leavenworth, Stasia has a master's degree in German Literature and Cultural Studies and speaks fluent German.    Stasia has taught the AT at Indiana University, Milliken University, DePauw University, and the University of Illinois School of Music, and is currently Artist Faculty at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts. For over twenty-five years, she has taught the Alexander Technique in universities, conservatories, and masterclasses across the U.S. and abroad.   Stasia began integrating the alphorn into her Alexander Technique teaching at Cormont Horn Camp, where she has served on the faculty for the past decade. She now leads The Alphorn Project for Utah-based Alpensong, developing alphorn ensembles at universities and conservatories nationwide. She is also a 200-hour registered yoga teacher, a certified Scolio-Pilates practitioner, and an active member of AmSAT.   Quote:  "The alphorn teaches what the Alexander Technique invites: stand lightly on the ground, let the spine lengthen and widen, and allow the sound to arise naturally—like a call carried by the mountains, not pushed toward them." Stasia Siena 

Aimie  Stewart is a classically trained French horn player turned alphorn enthusiast, Amie  is a co-founder of the Puget Sound Alphorns alongside Gary Martin. Amie has played French horn professionally in Germany, Switzerland and the Greater Seattle area for over twenty years. From school classrooms to concert stages  and local parks Amie delights in sharing the alphorn’s rich history and resonant sound. Her journey is one of constant growth—honing her skills, teaching others, and celebrating the natural harmony between the French horn and the singing trees.
“I adore the calming, resonant sound of the wood, like a singing tree”-Amie
SPONSORD BY ALPHORN ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICAN

Alphorn Youth Camp Director

Rob Nofsinger and his family discovered the Alphorn on trips to Leavenworth for family vacations. In 2023 Rob and his two daughters attended the annual Leavenworth Alphorn Workshop over Memorial Day weekend. They loved their experience and brought the family's first Alphorn home for mom, Lauren, and baby brother to learn too. After another two years of attending the annual workshop, the family enjoys hiking in the mountains around Seattle with their backpacking Alphorn and sharing it with all those they meet along the way. At the 2025 Alphorn Workshop, Lauren and Rob were inspired by all the children in attendance and offered to help start an Alphorn youth camp to encourage more student participation. They are looking forward to a fun camp experience filled with musical learning, fun games, and fellowship for their kids and many others.