Inspiring Audiences and Artists for Fifty-Six Years.
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Presented by HVMS
Robert Walters' English Horn Master Class opens with dinner at 6:00 p.m. on Monday May 25, 2026, and closes at 12:00 p.m. after a farewell brunchon Saturday May 30, 2026.
Hidden Valley's master classes are immersive, week-long learning intensives for advanced players. Master class participants enjoy not only opportunities for learning & advancement but create relationships within the musical community that can last a lifetime. It is a testament to our exceptional teaching faculty and the caliber of students that many Hidden Valley master class participants have gone on to hold important positions in major orchestras and universities around the world.
All master class students and teaching faculty live on campus during the master class and spend meals and free time together. All master class students are housed in our Waddell Center Residence Hall (double occupancy rooms). Facility and lodging information, pictures, and a campus map can all be found under the 'Visit Us' tab.
This session features:
- Solo performance classes with piano accompaniment
- Orchestral excerpts/audition preparation
- Oboe d'amore class
- Reed making workshop
- Recital by Robert Walters
- Score study/preparation
The collaborative pianist for the class is Reiko Uchida, world-renowned pianist, recitalist, chamber musician, and Columbia University faculty associate.
Robert Walters has been the solo English horn player of The Cleveland Orchestra since 2004. A fourth-generation college music professor, Robert Walters has taught at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music since 2006 and was appointed professor of oboe and English horn in 2010. His students have secured solo positions in leading orchestras across the United States.
Walters has appeared as a soloist with The Cleveland Orchestra on numerous occasions, performing the works of Rorem, Peteris Vasks, J.S. Bach, Copeland, and Bernard Rands. He has also made guest solo appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Beijing Radio Symphony, China Film Philharmonic, Qingdao Symphony Orchestra, New York Chamber Soloists, and The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia.
Walters was formerly the solo English horn player of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. He has performed and recorded with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic and was an active freelance musician in New York City for many years. He also spent five summers at the Marlboro Music Festival and toured as a member of Musicians from Marlboro.
Walters has taught and performed at the Aspen Music Festival and School, Bard Music Festival, Colorado College Summer Music Festival, Domaine Forget, Hidden Valley Music Seminars, Music Academy of the West, New World Symphony, Rice University, and Cutris Institute of Music. He was recently featured as a solo artist on NPR's Performance Today and on the PBD Great Performances series Now Hear This.
A native of Los Angeles and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, Walters is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Richard Woodhams, and Columbia University, where he earned an MFA in poetry.
All new participant applications should be supported by 2 letters of recommendation, please email letters of recommendation to info@hiddenvalleymusic.org. In some cases audition video or mp3 may be requested. All applications will be processed on receipt and after application fee is received. Applicants are accepted on a rolling basis and will be notified by email. To apply for the class click on Apply on the column to the right.
A non-refundable deposit payment of $300.00 is due upon acceptance. Balance is due 10 days before the opening date of class.
If you have questions or need additional information, please contact (831) 659-3115 or email info@hiddenvalleymusic.org.
Wednesday May 27, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. Each master class includes a concert, open to the public, featuring the master teacher performing a wide array of repertoire highlighting their instrument. For those not in the master class, tickets to this performance may be purchased. Concert info & tickets.
In the video below, Mr. Walters previews Peteris Vasks' English Horn Concert, which he played with The Cleveland Orchestra.