Detroit, (June 18, 2026) – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and Music Director Jader Bignamini are excited to announce the appointment of Patrick Walle to the position of Assistant Principal Horn. Walle previously served as Acting Principal Horn with the DSO in the 2024–25 season and joined the orchestra full time as Utility Horn in 2025. Following a successful audition this past January, Walle began his new position on June 1.
After graduating from the Eastman School of Music with a Performer’s Certificate in 2009, Walle became a member of the Rochester Philharmonic. He later moved to Nashville in 2013, where he continued his career as an Associate Principal/third horn player.
“We’re delighted to congratulate Patrick on his appointment to Assistant Principal Horn. Since joining the organization in 2025, he has served as a valued member of the orchestra who consistently demonstrates exceptional musicianship and passion,” said DSO Vice President and General Manager Kathryn Ginsburg. “Thank you to Jader, our audition committee, operations team, and candidates who participated in this process. We look forward to Patrick’s continued contributions to our orchestra.”
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About Patrick Walle
Patrick Walle previously served as Acting Principal Horn with the DSO in the 2024–25 season and joined the orchestra full time as Utility Horn in July 2025. Walle graduated from the Eastman School of Music with a Performer’s Certificate in 2009. From there, he went on to become a member of the Rochester Philharmonic for three seasons, before being appointed Associate Principal/third horn of the Nashville Symphony in 2013. A Michigan native, Walle also previously studied with the former Assistant Principal Horn, Dave Everson.
Walle has served as Principal Horn at various summer festivals including Grant Park Music Festival, the Hamptons Festival of Music, and the Lakes Area Music Festival.
When away from the instrument, Walle was also a domestic professional cyclist for nearly a decade, now competes in the sport of powerlifting, and is the proud father of two children.
Walle plays instruments made by the legendary master craftsman Karl Hill, who is the builder of Kortesmaki Horns.
About the DSO
The acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra is known for trailblazing performances, collaborations with the world’s foremost musical artists, and a deep connection to its city. Led by Music Director Jader Bignamini since 2020, the DSO makes its home at historic Orchestra Hall within the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, offering a robust performance schedule that features classical, pops, jazz, and family concerts, plus community performances. Enrico Lopez-Yañez was named Principal Pops Conductor in 2023, trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard serves as the orchestra’s Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair, and Tabita Berglund began her tenure as Principal Guest Conductor in the 2024–25 season. A dedication to broadcast innovation and technology began in 1922, when the DSO became the first orchestra in the world to present a live radio broadcast of a concert and continues today with the groundbreaking Live from Orchestra Hall series of free webcasts.
The DSO’s distinguished history of recordings—many led by its renowned music directors—spans nearly a century, beginning with the orchestra’s first 78 rpm singles with Ossip Gabrilowitsch released on the Victrola label in 1928. A steady recording output has continued since then, with highlights including more than 20 releases with Paul Paray for Mercury’s Living Presence series, and 27 under the baton of Neeme Järvi, mostly on the Chandos label. In the 1970s, the DSO took part in the historic Black Composers Series for Columbia Records led by its then-Associate Conductor Paul Freeman and later made several acclaimed recordings with Antal Doráti for the Decca label. More recently, under the direction of Leonard Slatkin, the DSO recorded music by Rachmaninoff, Copland, and John Williams for the Naxos label, earning its first GRAMMY® nomination in 2017 for Copland’s Third Symphony / Three Latin American Sketches. The first recording with Jader Bignamini, of Wynton Marsalis’s Blues Symphony, was released in March 2025 on the Pentatone label.
Since its first school concerts a century ago, and particularly since the founding of the Civic Youth Ensembles in 1970, the DSO has been a national leader in bringing the benefits of music education to students, teachers, and families in Detroit and surrounding communities. The DSO remains committed to expanding its participation in the growth and well-being of Detroit through programs like its Detroit Neighborhood Initiative—cultural events co-created with community partners and residents—and Detroit Harmony, a promise to provide an instrument and instruction to any student in the city who wants to learn. With unwavering support from the people of Detroit, the DSO actively pursues a mission to impact lives through the power of unforgettable musical experiences.