The Sydney Symphony Orchestra has announced Sam Jacobs as its Principal Horn. The UK-born player previously held Principal posts at the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and the New Zealand Symphony. He has also been guest Principal Horn with the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras and played a significant role in the 2016 Ring Cycle in Melbourne.

Sam Jacobs. Photo courtesy Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Jacobs is also a respected studio musician, having played on albums with Sting, Sam Smith and Florence & the Machine. He also appears on soundtracks for films including The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Interstellar, The Martian and the James Bond film Spectre.

As a soloist, Jacobs has performed concertos by Haydn, Mozart, Hoffmann, Franz Strauss, and Richard Strauss, as well as Schumann’s Konzertstück on Principal Horn. He recorded John Rimmer’s Horn Concerto with the NZSO, and his performance of Mozart’s Fourth Horn Concerto with Sinfonia Viva was broadcast on Britain’s Classic FM. Samuel also toured this concerto with the NZSO in 2016.

He also performed with Sting at the Hollywood Bowl and played Principal Horn on the Star Wars In Concert tour across America, Canada, and Europe...