Rebecca Karu is a spirited horn player based in the NJ/NYC areas. As an up

and coming performing artist, she demonstrates versatility in both her

musicianship, and as an educator within the music community. Along with being

an impassioned musician, Rebecca has an ardent devotion to artistic development.

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      Rebecca attended Montclair State University where she received her

Bachelor's Degree in Music Performance. During her time there she studied with

Jeff Scott, who has and continues to be a great friend and mentor.  She played with

the Cali Quintet and performed frequently with them for concerts throughout the

area. She was also selected to perform a joint concert with Towson University

and Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland where they performed

Mahler's Symphony No. 2 under the baton of Julian Benichou. Rebecca continued

to perform in the orchestra, playing other major works like Tchaikovsky's

Symphony No. 5, Dvorak 9, Saint Saëns Symphony No.3, and ended her time at

Montclair on a high note as principal horn performing Mahler's Symphony No. 1.

   

     Her studies continued at The Mannes School of Music in New York City

where she completed her Masters degree in Music Performance in May, 2021.

She was a student of the brilliant soloist, David Jolley. She was an active part

of the Orchestra, playing Principal horn for works like Mendelssohn's Midsummer

Night's Dream, and was an orchestra member of the Opera production of Turn of

the Screw by Benjamin Britten in 2019. Rebecca is currently pursuing her DMA at

Rutgers University in New Jersey where she studied with Richard Deane, and

currently with David Peel. She's an active member of Rutgers Symphony

Orchestra, Wind Ensemble and the contemporary ensemble HELIX!

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     Rebecca was a four-time participant of the Imani Winds Chamber Music

Festival. She also attended the Sewanee Summer Music Festival in 2016 where she

placed into the top orchestra, and was a student ofAlexander Shuhan. In 2018, she

was accepted into the AIMS Wind Academy in Solsona, Cataluna, Spain and was

awarded the GREMI grant; a full scholarship to the program sponsored by GEMC Publishers. She then had the opportunity of performing the solo piece she submitted for the grant application, La Tarara by Juan Carlos Lax Santa, twice over the course of the festival. She was the first Wind Academy participant and the only American that year to win the scholarship. While attending the Academy, she studied with Scott Brubaker of the Metropolitan Opera. 

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     Rebecca is the newly appointed Professor of Horn at Ocean County College in Toms River, New Jersey. Additionally, she was one of the founders of Brass Out Loud; a non-profit organization who's mission was to uplift and highlight underrepresented voices in the brass community. Through their annual workshops, year round panel discussions and BOLD Chats, Brass Out Loud aimed to offer educational and inspirational resources to help form and create a better and more inclusive brass community.

 

     Rebecca is a horn player for Opera Italiana in NYC; a concert celebrating Italian Opera works, held in Central Park midsummer in both 2018, 2019 and 2021-2024. She played assistant horn for Scott Brubaker in 2018, fourth horn in 2019, and second horn in 2021-2024. Rebecca was formerly second horn with the Fairfield County Chorale based in Norwalk, CT, and now frequently plays with the Bravura Philharmonic based in West Windsor, NJ as acting principal and third horn.​

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     As an advocate for musician's health, Rebecca has her own blog entitled, Mind Over Practice: Integrated Perspectives on Health and Performance. Her blog addresses topics that range from Performance Anxiety management, to how to schedule productive practice sessions. She emphasizes the importance of prioritizing our health, mind, and general well-being as artists to then later enhance our performance abilities. She also holds a certificate in Essentials of Performing Arts Medicine from the Performing Arts Medicine Associate (PAMA) in conjunction with the American College of Sports Medicine. Rebecca is also a former member of PAMA. Additionally, Rebecca recently gave a masterclass on Performance Anxiety at the 2020 Urubrass Festival, a masterclass for Echo: Musicians Connect on How to Uncover Your Artistic Confidence in October, 2020 and a talk on Mental Health and Disabilities in the Arts through Odyssey in March, 2021.