Alexander Love is an Australian Horn player currently living and working in Chicago. Prior to moving to Chicago in 2019 he served in the capacity of Acting Associate Principal Horn with the Utah Symphony since early 2016. In recent years he has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and as guest principal Horn with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Born and raised in Sydney, Alex first took up the Horn at the age of 9 to join the newly formed concert band at his primary school and fill out the under represented Horn section. Falling in love with the horn, Alex went on to attend the Sydney Conservatorium of Music High School. He completed a Bachelor of Music in performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, studying with Ben Jacks, and then a year in the Sydney Symphony Fellowship program before moving to the US in 2010 to pursue a Master's in Orchestral Performance at the Manhattan School of Music in New York with Erik Ralske as his teacher.
Alex relished his time in New York, performing in a wide array of settings from educational schools performances, to Off Broadway shows and jazz ensembles, whilst attending as many concerts as he could at Carnegie Hall, the Met Opera, Jazz clubs and other venues throughout the city. In 2011, while still in New York, Alex won a position in the Princeton Symphony Orchestra in New Jersey.
In 2012 Alex moved to Miami Beach to join The New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. The New World Symphony provided a unique environment to perform week to week with other inspiring young colleagues, whilst having periodic instruction from guest teachers, notably Julie Landsman and William Vermeulen among many others. Also during his time at New World Symphony Alex was involved with teaching and giving horn classes at Miami Northwestern High and had the opportunity to teach in Medellin, Colombia through the New World Symphony’s exchange with Academia Filarmónica de Medellín.
Alex has been a member of and performed with various Festival Orchestras around the world including the Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland, Pacific Music Festival Orchestra in Japan, Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra and the Santo Domingo Music Festival Orchestra in the Dominican Republic. Previously, Alex was also a member of the Australian Youth Orchestra and toured with them to France, Germany, China, England, and Denmark as Principal Horn. Other orchestras Alex has performed with include the Australian Chamber Orchestra on tour and in Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, the Singapore Symphony, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, the Auckland Philharmonia and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Among the notable conductors Alex has worked with are Michael Tilson-Thomas, Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Charles Dutoit, Neemi Jarvi, Manfred Honneck, Kent Nagano, Gianandrea Noseda, and Kurt Masur.
With additional experience in recording and musical theatre work, Alex has recorded on the soundtracks of major Hollywood movies including “Mad Max: Fury Road”, “Happy Feet,” “Australia”, “Jumper” and “Knowing”. He has also performed in productions in Sydney, Australia of “Phantom of the Opera” and “Wicked” and on the Off-Broadway production “Queen of the Mist” in NYC.
Alexander is passionate about chamber music and contemporary music. Commissioning new works and exploring the possibilities of the Horn is something Alex hopes to pursue and do more of in the future.