Hornist | Artist | Scholar
Connor Étienne Powers is a hornist from Houston, Texas, studying Horn Performance at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music with Professor Elizabeth Freimuth. A graduate of Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Connor has served as principal horn of the Houston Youth Symphony, the Interlochen World Youth Symphony Orchestra, and numerous orchestral and chamber ensembles.
In 2026, Connor performed as hornist in the Clutch City Brass ensemble. The ensemble won the Junior Division Silver Medal and the American Brass Quintet Brass Ensemble Prize at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. That summer, he attended the Boston University Tanglewood Institute’s Woodwind Quintet Intensive on scholarship.
Previously, he was named a 2025 YoungArts award winner in Classical Music and an Interlochen Orchestral Scholar. His musical development has included intensive orchestral and chamber-music study, private instruction with distinguished horn teachers, and masterclasses with leading artists in the field.
Born in Covington, Louisiana, Connor later lived in Bangkok, Thailand, and in Danville and Bakersfield, California, before moving to Houston. Beyond music, he has a deep interest in history, particularly medieval European history.
Interlochen Collage WYSO Principal Brass Quintet – July 2025
Kevin McKee: Iron Horse (Mvmt II. Highball on White Pass)
Interlochen World Youth Symphony Orchestra – July 2025
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11 in G Minor, Op. 103
Louis Langrée, conductor
Interlochen World Youth Symphony Orchestra – August 2025
Liszt: Les Préludes, Symphonic Poem No. 3
Cristian Măcelaru, conductor
ROCO Side-by-Side Concert – February 2025
Emilie Mayer‘s Overture No. 2 in D Major
Delayana Lazarova, conductor
Email: ConnorEPowers08@gmail.com