Rachel Drehmann, aka Attila the Horn

Rachel Drehmann, aka Attila the Horn, is a classically trained — but postmodern-inspired — horn-player-about-town based out of Harlem. As a freelancer she loves playing pop, rock, classical, contemporary, musical theater, you name it...basically a normal week's work in NYC. She can often be found playing in numerous Broadway orchestra pits, at Shakespeare in the Park, as a member of Banda de Los Muertos, and as founding member of infamous horn quartet Genghis Barbie.

Rachel grew up among the farms, cheese-lovers, and her fellow Packer fans outside of Green Bay, WI. She studied with Charles Kavalovski at the University of Minnesota and Jerome Ashby at the Aspen Music Festival and Manhattan School of Music, and over the subsequent decade has become a vital part of the professional music scene throughout NYC and beyond. Rachel has recorded and/or shared the stage with Adele, Bruce Springsteen, Lorde, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Father John Misty, Danny Harrison, Frank Ocean, Kanye West, and Shakira. Her radio and television appearances have included NPR, Late Show With David Letterman, The Colbert Report and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She was also the horn player for the Love This Giant tour with pop/rock icons David Byrne and St. Vincent on a whirlwind year-long adventure of busing, biking, and playing shows all around the world. Rachel regularly performs with the American Symphony Orchestra, International Contemporary Ensemble, American Ballet Theater, Metropolis Ensemble, and Argento Chamber Ensemble and has also appeared as a soloist with Berkshire Bach Society, Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, and Burlington Chamber Orchestra. She has collaborated with Ann Ellsworth on concerti from the Dresden Court and has recently played recitals in New York, Dallas, and Interlochen with David Cooper. 

When she's not onstage — or out pillaging and conquering with Genghis Barbie — Rachel enjoys volleyball as well as managing a talented gang of violin bowmakers at Salchow & Sons.

Danielle Kuhlmann, aka Velvet Barbie

Praised by the New York Times for her fearless and seductive playing, Danielle Kuhlmann has traveled the world, performing with symphony orchestras and in chamber music concerts throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. A native of Seattle, Washington, she completed her undergraduate degree with Jerome Ashby at the Juilliard School and pursued graduate studies at Rice University under William VerMeulen. Following several years as a freelance musician in New York, Ms. Kuhlmann played 2nd Horn in the San Diego Symphony for three years. She recently moved back to her hometown to become the 4th Horn of the Seattle Symphony.

She has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Colorado Symphony, and the Orchestra of St. Lukes. An avid interpreter of new music, she was Principal Horn of the American Composers Orchestra, and performs with the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE). She has been a featured soloist with the Seattle and Manila Symphony Orchestras, Novus NY at Trinity Wall Street, and the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra. In addition to classical performances, Danielle has been heard in various Broadway shows in New York City and on many video game and movie soundtracks. In 2013, she performed several cycles of Wagner's epic Der Ring des Nibelungen with Seattle Opera.

Devoted to philanthropic work, Kuhlmann has traveled to the Philippines four times, volunteering for the group Cultures in Harmony, a New York-based NGO that promotes cultural diplomacy through music. The group works with both professional and student-level musicians in Manila, as well as with indigenous youth. In January of 2011, she volunteered in Kabul, Afghanistan, teaching and performing at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music.

A multifaceted musician and risk-taker, Danielle has a diverse array of experiences under her belt, both with and without her horn. In 2008 she joined the Brooklyn-based country rock band Tatters & Rags, which she left in 2014. In 2009 she appeared on Amateur Night at the Apollo, singing Toni Braxton's "Unbreak My Heart." Her performance was enthusiastically received, and she was not "walked off" the stage by the "Executioner." She considers it to be one of her greatest achievements.

Pursuing other non-musical interests as well, Danielle studied metalsmithing and jewelry design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She uses her skills to create each piece of Genghis Barbie jewelry and merchandise, as well as personalized items for exclusive use by the Barbies.

Alana Vegter, aka Freedom Barbie

Alana Vegter is a world-class horn player and educator who concertizes worldwide in both chamber and orchestral settings. She is most currently playing the 2014-2015 season with the New York Philharmonic’s Horn Section as Assistant Principal Horn. She performs regularly with her woodwind quintet, Sospiro Winds, and is a founding member of Genghis Barbie, the “all-female pop french horn experience”. The group made its Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium) debut in 2012 as soloists with the New York Youth Symphony and has released four albums to date. The members of Genghis Barbie are in high demand not only as performers and educators, but also as musical entrepreneurs, and have given hundreds of concerts and master classes nationwide.

Alana received her Bachelors of Music from DePaul University in the studio of Jon Boen. While in Chicago, Ms. Vegter spent two years performing with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago before moving to NYC to earn her Master's degree from the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Julie Landsman. She was a fellow of The Academy aka Ensemble ACJW, Carnegie Hall’s collective of young professionals and music advocates. She performs with DeCoda, an alumni group of he Academy, and with them has performed in hundreds of hospitals, prisons, and schools world-wide. Alana continues to regularly perform chamber music at Carnegie Hall. Her two-year fellowship was chronicled in a full length New York Times article in June of 2009. Highlights from her fellowship include the Carnegie Hall premiere of the Ligeti Horn Trio.

Alana has played with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and The Orchestra of St. Luke’s. She has also played with Spoleto Festival USA, Pacific Music Festival (Japan), Chamber Music Northwest (Portland, Oregon), Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany), The Verbier Festival Orchestra, The Juilliard Orchestra, and The Aspen Music Festival.

Alana is is the proud mother of two young daughters, Noa (2), and Summer (1), who coincidentally both display a deep love for music. In the spare time that she doesn't have, she enjoys karaoke and cooking new recipes.

Laura Weiner AKA Alpine Barbie

Laura Weiner AKA Alpine Barbie is a passionate horn player, teacher, and advocate for saving the world with just a little more music. Based in New York City but born with her alpine lungs in high-altitude Colorado, Laura is an experienced chamber musician, orchestral performer, soloist, and teaching artist. She is an alumnus of Ensemble Connect, a program of Carnegie Hall, the Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute. She received her Bachelor of Music degree *summa cum laude* from Northwestern University, and her Masters degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison on a University Fellowship.

Laura thrives on mixing it up as a horn player, performing with diverse musical groups from symphony orchestras to new music ensembles to Broadway pits, and plays regularly with the chamber ensemble Decoda. In a given week, you could hear her perform at a concert hall, elementary school auditorium, correctional facility, or club. As part of Ensemble Connect, she was a featured soloist at Zankel Hall under the baton of Robert Spano in March 2013.

In addition to performing, Laura is enthusiastically devoted to education and community work. She is a teaching artist for the New York Philharmonic in two public schools and the piano teacher for Musicambia at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Laura has led a variety of songwriting workshops all over the country, and loves to inspire first-time songwriters of all ages from police officers to third graders. She has laid down many a hip-hop horn lick when the occasion calls for it. When she isnt performing or teaching, Laura lives her best REI life- rock climbing, backpacking, snowboarding, and climbing mountains. She recently summited Mount Kilimanjaro, and holds the continental US high-altitude horn record (probably) for playing her horn at 14,433 feet above sea level.