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Kathryn Ethel Merker has been a
pioneer as a woman in what at the time
was a man's world of professional music.
She has played with major orchestras, in
sessions with recording artists, shows,
and jingles and has taught at several
universities. The diversity of her work
is astounding. She helped design the
Holton Merker-Matic horn and has been a
clinician and spokesperson for Holton,
now Conn-Selmer.
Ethel was born in 1923. She studied
piano first, then and started playing
horn in the third grade. She studied
with Max Pottag through high school and
then at Northwestern University, where
she earned BME (1946) and MM (1947)
degrees. She free-lanced in Chicago and
was principal horn in the Chicago NBC
Radio Orchestra (1941-50), where she was
the only woman and one of the youngest
members.
Ethel has also played with the
Chicago Symphony, Chicago Pops, Chicago
Lyric Opera, Milwaukee Symphony, Berlin
Radio Orchestra, New York City Ballet,
New York City Opera, and the Boston
Pops, and in shows in Las Vegas.
Ethel has recorded with the Jackson
Five, Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, John
Denver, Peggy Lee, Johnny Mathis, Mimi
Hines, Ramsey Lewis, Curtis Mayfield,
the Smothers Brothers, and Quincy Jones.
Peggy Lee insisted on having Ethel in
her orchestra and Johnny Mathis called
her his favorite horn player. At the
Universal Studios in Chicago, a set-up
called the Ethel Merker Flying Wedge put
Ethel in front, with two trombones,
three trumpets, four woodwinds, five
rhythm, six violins, and seven low
strings. Jingles include Marlboro,
Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Budweiser, and
United Airlines.
She has been on the faculty of
Indiana University, DePaul University,
Vandercook College of Music (Chicago),
Northwestern University, and Valparaiso
University. Students include Dan
Phillips, Randy Gardner, Herbert
Winslow, Jack Dressler, Eric
Terwillinger, and Oto Carillo. Ethel
believes in exposing students to all
types of music. Vandercook College
conferred an honorary Doctor of Music
degree on her in 1995.
Ethel was a colleague of Philip
Farkas, assisting him in the Chicago
Symphony on many occasions. They often
discussed horns and horn design, and
Farkas took her along to the Holton
Elkhorn, WI factory to play and listen
to the horns he was developing. In 1995
the owner of Holton, Vito Pascucci,
asked Ethel to help produce a new horn
design. Ethel worked with engineer Larry
Ramirez to develop the Merker-Matic.
Ethel has participated in horn
workshops and symposiums as a Holton
clinician. She was presented with the
International Women's Brass Conference
Pioneer Recognition Award in 2001 and
was elected an IHS Honorary Member in
2009.
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