Kimberlee Hebdon

Kentucky native Kimberlee (Kimmi) Hebdon is the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Principal French Hornist. This is her first season with the Philharmonic.

Kimmi’s love for music grew quickly when at age 7 she took part in an “instrument petting zoo” with the Billings Montana Symphony Orchestra and she was able to try out the horn for the first time. She started playing the French horn in school when she was 12. Kimmi spent her high school years in Kentucky playing and soloing with the Louisville Youth Orchestra and playing side by side with professionals in the Louisville Orchestra. She spent her summers at the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts and at the Interlochen Summer Institute and Festival as the Moe and Francine Endowed Music Scholar. She was also the recipient of the William Tolbert Whittenberg Scholarship for Performing Arts Excellence through the Fund for the Arts Campaign which helped fund her college education.

Kimmi is a recent graduate of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music and studied under internationally recognized hornist Gail Williams. She was a member of Northwestern’s Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra. During her time at Northwestern, she loved playing in chamber groups and performing with the brass ensemble. She has attended the Brevard Summer Music Festival and the Aspen Summer Festival as a Conducting Academy Fellow. Other teachers who have contributed to her success are Jon Boen of Northwestern University, Diana Morgen of the Louisville Orchestra, and Mr. John Little.

Outside of music, Kimmi loves being outdoors, watching sports, playing with her dog, and spending quality time with her family and friends.