Bio

Renée Vogen, a Chicago based freelance musician and teacher, is the Instructor of Horn at Northern Illinois University. Renée is also the Third Horn of the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra and a core member of the Chicago Philharmonic. She performs regularly with esteemed ensembles across the Midwest, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Grant Park Orchestra, and Elgin Symphony Orchestra.

Renée has appeared as guest principal horn with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and Rockford Symphony Orchestra. She is also an experienced Wagner tuba player, having performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and New World Symphony.Previously, Renée served as Second Horn with the Lancaster Festival Orchestra (Ohio) and was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.

Outside of her work in the Midwest, Renée has performed as a substitute musician with the New World Symphony, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, and Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 2019 Renée was awarded honorable mention at the International Women’s Brass Conference Susan Slaughter Solo Competition (Category II) in Tempe, AZ. Other awards include winning first place at the International Horn Society’s Horn Quartet Competition with the #quartet in Los Angeles in 2015, and being named runner-up at the IHS Dorothy Frizelle Mock Audition Competition (Low Horn) in San Francisco in 2011.

Renée’s wanderlust has taken her to China, where she was a teaching fellow at the Youth Music Culture Guangdong in Guangzhou in 2020 – Iceland, where she played as a substitute musician with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra in Reykjavîk – Italy, where she performed with the Gil Evans Chamber Jazz Ensemble, a headlining group at the Umbria Jazz Festival in 2012 – and Germany, where she studied the German language as a DAAD summer exchange fellow at the Universitat Potsdam.

In addition to her role at Northern Illinois University, she is also adjunct faculty at DePaul University, where she teaches upper brass methods.

Renée has given masterclasses at Penn State University, Western Michigan University, Illinois State University, and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and has led career presentations for the Eastman School of Music Horn Studio and the Chicago College of Performing Arts Brass Area at Roosevelt University.

Renée earned her Master’s degree in horn performance from DePaul University under the tutelage of James Smelser, and her Bachelor’s in horn performance, Performer’s Certificate, and Arts Leadership Certificate from the Eastman School of Music under the instruction of W. Peter Kurau.