Nathan Pawelek

Nathan Pawelek, former principal horn of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, joined Quadre Horn Quartet in 2003 and enjoys a freelance performing career in New England. A composer and horn player, Nathan attended Oberlin College and Conservatory where he received double degrees in horn performance and English. He earned a Master of Horn Performance from Yale University and a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Goddard College in Vermont. Nathan played principal horn with the South Dakota Symphony and Dakota Wind Quintet for ten seasons before moving back to New England.
He has worked with nationally-recognized artists, and an occasional international VIP. Nathan attended the Tanglewood Music Festival, the European Mozart Academy in Poland, The National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, CO and played under the baton of Michael Tilson-Thomas with the New World Symphony. Nathan has been a regular of the horn section of the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra in Boulder and is a member of the Iris Chamber Orchestra in Germantown, TN under the direction of Michael Stern.
As a composer, Nathan has written works for orchestra including a symphony, a clarinet concerto, several song cycles, and a children’s program for narrator and orchestra, as well as chamber music for various ensembles including woodwind quintet, and horn quartet. His recent composition “Irremediable Breakdown” for horn and piano was commissioned by hornist, Denise Tryon, formally a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra. His wife is Karen and his children are Aidan and Zachary, and they live in Guilford, CT. Nathan has also written two novels and run five marathons.