Henry Broughton is a freelance French Horn player and teacher in Portland, Oregon. Struggles with mental illness and self-harm have led Henry to spread the healing that music has brought him to others. In an attempt to break down the elitism and inaccessibility of classical music, Henry aims to keep an amicable relationship with his audiences, usually introducing himself and his own music on stage, welcoming audience participation when appropriate, and playing recitals that include a variety of music from different eras and composers so that there is always something for each audience member to enjoy.
After two whole years of uninstructed trumpet playing, Henry thought to himself “I’ve got this pretty well figured out” and switched his primary instrument of study to the French Horn. The beautiful music written by composers of the past and present give Henry the motivation to continue to actually figure out the French Horn to a greater extent than his seventh grade trumpet career. He considers himself an eternal student who enjoys working within all genres and styles.
He has performed as a substitute for the Vancouver Symphony USA, and performs regularly as the first horn of Portland State University’s Pit Orchestra and Wind Symphony. Henry has worked with a number of chamber ensembles at PSU, including the Big Tuba Brass Quintet, PSU Brass Ensemble, and PSU Chamber winds, and has also performed in a number of brass quintets hosted by Portland State, receiving instruction from Bang on a Can, Radovan Vlatković, David Johnson, and Jeff Scott. Henry is a student of Dr. Daniel Partridge.