Alex Shuhan began studying piano at age five, and continued through high school when he was actively involved as an accompanist and show rehearsal-pianist. He began studies on the horn at age nine at the recommendation of his parents, who advised that college scholarships would be more readily obtainable if he played the horn rather than the saxophone, which was his instrument of choice. More mature heads prevailed, and Alex continued his horn studies at the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan and the Pre-College Division of the Juilliard School. While at Juilliard, Alex was selected to be the focus of a television spot on the life of a young Pre-College musician for the CBS show "30 Minutes," a kid's version of "60 Minutes."
Scholarships secured, Alex continued at the Eastman School of Music where he was a student of Verne Reynolds and earned bachelor degrees in Horn Performance and Instrumental Music Education. (His saxophone methods class was aural proof that mom and dad had been right!). From Eastman, he went on to do graduate study with Greg Hustis at Southern Methodist University and begin his career as a chamber musician. While at SMU, Alex began playing with the Dallas Brass, a position he held for eight years before helping to found Rhythm & Brass in 1993. An accomplished pianist, arranger and composer, many of his compositions and arrangements are performed regularly by Rhythm & Brass.
In addition to his years of chamber music experience, Alex has also performed extensively in the horn sections of the Syracuse Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony, Portland Symphony, Dallas Ballet Orchestra, Portland Ballet Orchestra, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra and Skaneateles Chamber Orchestra. Alex is presently Assistant Professor of Horn at Ithaca College, a position he has held since August 1998.
