Celebrating Retiring Principal Horn Michael Gast

In December 2025 the Minnesota Orchestra is celebrating the many achievements of Principal Horn Michael Gast as he retires after 35 years in the ensemble—including 21 at the head of the horn section. Here Michael takes a look back at his life in music, and his section colleagues share reflections.

My hometown of Tallahassee, Florida, is only 20 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico, and I spent a lot of my time there. My father was a true rocket scientist that worked on the Saturn V moon shots, and I developed a solid science education. I started off as a cornet player in 6th grade and switched to horn in the 10th grade because I liked the challenge and sound of the instrument. The next summer I won a scholarship to the National Science Foundation Oceanography camp and considered a career in oceanography, but then attended a music camp at Florida State University and thought I should pursue a career in music because it would be easier and more fun than Oceanography—wrong!

I worked very hard with Dr. William Capps at FSU, and he got me into the Curtis Institute of Music. Eight years later I won my 25th audition as the new associate/assistant/utility horn player of the Minnesota Orchestra, meaning I would play any and all parts as needed, which was interesting.

One of the questions we musicians are asked is “who is your favorite conductor?” The standard answer is the conductor that hired us! That would be Edo de Waart, but I have a second and equally favorite conductor, and that’s Osmo Vänskä. After moving up in the section as acting principal horn for several seasons, Osmo appointed me the principal horn, so I owe him endless gratitude for such an amazing opportunity for the last 21 years.

It's been a dream come true and to have all of these fantastic recordings to capture the technical and expressive prowess of this orchestra is really special. Some of my favorite concerts include all the international touring we did in the great halls of the world, in particular Bruckner 4 and Mahler 5 at the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC 3 telecasts at The Proms.

Playing Schumann’s Konzertstück for four horns was a real rush—I prepared for two years for that week. The original solo parts for the very difficult Konzertstück had most of the action in the top two horn parts, so I decided to arrange all four parts to give the other two players more to do while keeping the integrity of Schumann’s concerto. The notes are the same, just more equally distributed, and now all four parts are equally soloistic. This took me the better part of a year to fine-tooth all the articulations and add some artistic phrasing, and then I had them copyrighted and published by California-based Steven Juliani Music. This arrangement has been performed by several other horn quartets due to its popularity.

A very special week was playing the Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with Jeffery Tate; the tenor cancelled two weeks out and we brought in an up and coming understudy from the Met Opera named Matthew Polenzani, before he went onto a stellar career! Standing in front of this orchestra to solo in Strauss and Mozart concertos are special memories, as well as the years being recognized with solo bows with an incredible horn section, I’ll definitely miss the camaraderie with all of the fantastic players in this orchestra. And I would have never made it this long in such a pressure packed career without the unsung heroes of the horn section, the assistants! For decades these freelancers did heavy lifting so I could have a nice sound for solos and concentrate on musical matters, thanks to all of you who sat next to me!

There is quite a bit of mental gymnastics that go on during our rehearsals, concerts and home preparation. It starts with how do you want to sound, and what’s your message? What is the timbre, articulation and demeanor, and then how can you take it to an even higher level in your preparation and execution? 

Years ago I got into sports psychology to learn techniques to increase my performance success, and here’s a few: No brain chatter, only the sound in your head, embracing the “Lizard Brain” that is devoid of all except what you’re trying to play. Stay out of the way of yourself and stay “in the now.” Play with intent and desire, and play with risk to attain your greatest and most convincing music. I again thank Osmo Vänskä for allowing this Orchestra to play with risk and letting us players achieve a positive growth mindset; greatness is never achieved with careful playing.

I’m lucky I have had such a memorable career and look forward to supporting the orchestra during my retirement. And many thanks to our audiences and staff; the teamwork evident in this organization is the envy of many cities. 

Reflections from Michael’s horn section colleagues

“Michael Gast is the most supportive, genuine and upstanding colleague I have ever had. His velvet sound and lush phrasing has graced the orchestra’s performances for years and will be greatly missed by his section and the entire orchestra.”

– Associate Principal Horn Jaclyn Rainey

“Mike Gast has been a great colleague and friend from the day I auditioned. Recently Mike played his last Richard Strauss concert, Der Rosenkavalier. He played so beautifully; all the solos, the big moments, the duets, everything. I’m the luckiest guy onstage—I get to sit close and hear the amazing sound and inspiring musicianship of a great friend and colleague.

“I really appreciate that Mike is a team player. He is quick to compliment and gives the whole section credit when things go well. He doesn’t criticize us, but leads by example, taking musical risks and pushing himself to the limits of his abilities. How encouraging it is to work with such a great colleague! A few years ago, upon hearing that our conductor was out for a family emergency, my reaction was to worry about how the concert would turn out, but Mike's reaction was, ‘Oh, we can have some fun with that!’

“Mike makes coming to work fun. I think that’s what I’m going to miss the most.”

– Second horn Brian Jensen