Mariela Rodriguez-Bohannon
horn

Mariela Rodriguez-Bohannon joined the Altoona Symphony Orchestra as Principal Horn in 2002. An active freelance artist, Mrs. Bohannon performs or is on call with many orchestras of the Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio area including the Columbus Symphony, Erie Philharmonic, Wheeling, Akron, and Westmoreland Symphonies and the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. She is the 2nd Horn of the River City Brass Band and can be heard on their most recent recording “Polished Brass”.

Mrs. Bohannon also held positions with the main orchestras in Argentina, Chile, and Mexico. She has had the opportunity to play with many great artists including Luciano Pavarotti, Vladimir Feltsman, and Franz-Paul Decker.

She won various scholarships and awards from Argentina including the Mozarteum de Santa Fe Competition where she performed a Recital in the Salon Dorado of the Teatro Colon in Argentina.

In the year 2001, Mrs. Bohannon was invited to play Richard Strauss’ Horn Concerto #1 with her hometown orchestra (Santa Fe Symphony) under the baton of Maestro Donald Portnoy and again with the Rosario Symphony later that same year.

In 2005 she played first horn in one of the most challenging pieces ever written for the horn, Schumann’s Wonderstruck (Concerto for 4 horns and orchestra) with this very Altoona Symphony.

Born in Santa Fe, Argentina, Mrs. Bohannon graduated from the Escuela de Musica and Liceo Municipal de Santa Fe. She holds a Masters of Music degree in Horn from Carnegie Mellon University where she studied with Myron Bloom (former Principal Horn of the Cleveland Orchestra).

As an educator she presently is the Horn faculty at Slippery Rock University. Mrs. Bohannon was a substitute teacher for Myron Bloom at Indiana University (Bloomington, IN) having formerly taught also in Carnegie Mellon University for him. Since 2007 she is the horn coach of the River City Youth Brass Band (RCYBB).

In her spare time, Mrs. Bohannon enjoys listening to recordings containing Vienna horns, singing in the church choir, walking, reading, learning new languages and sharing “yerba mate” (an infusion grown in Argentina) with her husband, family and friends. She resides in McKeesport, PA with her husband Scott Bohannon (also a horn player) and their beautiful 11 month old daughter Marisol.