Austin Ruff

Austin Ruff joins the Boston Symphony Orchestra horn section at the start of the 2024-2025 season. Originally from Richardson, Texas, he began playing horn when he was 11. Having fallen in love with symphonic music, he went on to study music performance at Southern Methodist University, graduating in 2021 with a Bachelor of Music in Horn Performance and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. While at SMU, he studied under Greg Hustis, Haley Hoops, David Heyde, and Alex Kienle and was awarded the Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award. Ruff also studied with Gail Williams and Jon Boen while pursuing a master's degree at Northwestern University. Other notable mentors include John Henes and Neil Kimmel. During his time in Chicago, Ruff was an Associate Musician with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Austin Ruff was appointed associate principal horn of the Omaha Symphony in spring 2022. He also performed in the Kansas City Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, New World Symphony, and Dallas Symphony Orchestra, where he also appeared as guest principal horn. He was a Fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center, Sarasota Music Festival, and the National Repertory Orchestra, where he was a concerto competition winner and featured soloist.