Arranged chronologically by year joined, principals indicated with asterisks
For nearly half a century, from 1905 to 1950, the BSO’s French horn section was comprised of two quartets. During those years, the leader of the “second” quartet is designated in this list as co-principal.
Anthony Gumpricht 1881-1882
Louis (Ludwig) Lippoldt 1881-1886
*Edward Schormann 1881-1891 (1881-1886 principal)
Carl Schumann 1881-1912
*Albert Hackebarth 1882-1885; 1890-1913
(1890-1905 principal; 1906-1907 co-principal)
Julius Schneider 1885-1893
*Xavier Reiter 1886-1890 principal
*Joseph Reiter 1890 principal (replaced his brother)
Franz Hain 1891-1925; 1932-1934
Heinrich Lorbeer 1891-1937
*Max Hess 1905-1925 (1905-1913 principal)
Joshua Aloysius Phair 1905-1913
William Carl Gebhardt 1907-1913; 1918-1927; 1933-1948
K. Schmid 1907-1909 (1907-1909 co-principal)
*George Wendler 1909-1928
(1909-1913 co-principal; 1913-1928 principal)
George Schindler 1923-1933
Ernst Hubner 1912-1919
Bruno Gustav Jaenicke 1913-1919 (1913-1918 co-principal)
Erwin Adolf Miersch 1913-1919
Alfred Resch 1913-1918
George Schindler 1923-1933
Cornelis Van Den Berg 1919-1932 (1919-1922 co-principal)
Cornelis Versney 1919-1920
*Willem Adriaan Valkenier 1923-1950
(1923-1937 co-principal; 1937-1950 principal)
Marcel Louis H. Lannoye 1925-1944
Serge Progrebniak 1925-1932
George (Gustav) Blot 1927-1933
*Georg Boettcher 1928-1936 (principal)
Walter Grant MacDonald 1932-1955
Edward Joseph Singer 1933-1943
*Gottfried von Freiberg 1936-1937 (principal)
Bernard Valkenier 1936-1937
Paul Keaney 1937-1944; 1946-1971
Harry Shapiro 1937-1944; 1945-1975
Harold Meek 1943-1963
Osborn McConothy 1944-1966
Hugh Cowden 1945-1947
Philip Farkas 1945-1946 (1945-1946 co-principal)
*James X. Stagliano 1946-1971
(1946-1950 co-principal; 1950-1971 principal)
Charles Yancich 1954-1983
Thomas E. Newell 1963-1971
Ralph Russel Pottle 1966-1981
David Ohanian 1970-1981
*Charles Kavalovski 1972-1997 (principal)
Richard Mackey 1973-2005
Peter Gordon 1976-1978
Daniel Katzen 1979-2008
Roger Kaza 1980-1982
*Richard Sebring 1981-present (2023-present principal)
Jay Wadenpful 1981-2010
Jonathan Menkis 1984-2018
*James Sommerville 1998-2022 (principal)
Jason Snider 2007-present
Rachel Childers 2011-present
Michael Winter 2012-present