Meet the Musicians: Jeffrey Fair

By Leilani Polk

Jeffrey Fair has been with the orchestra since 2003, has held the position of Principal Horn since 2013 and has been in the soloist spotlight on a few occasions, including the Symphony’s stunning 2022 presentation of Olivier Messiaen’s Des canyons aux étoiles... (From the canyons to the stars ...). Those concerts, featured on a 2023 Seattle Symphony Media recording, were among the highlights of his career so far. “Standing at the front of the stage with Maestro Morlot evoking the sounds and sensations of interstellar space was a huge challenge and accomplishment. In situations such as that, I remind myself how excited the audience is to hear and see what comes next. I like to imagine gathering all that collective energy and sending it back out through my horn and music-making.” 
 
Jeff started on horn at age 11. He grew up listening to Boston Pops records — his mother was an amateur flutist who performed with community groups around his Oklahoma City hometown — so he was already familiar with its look and sound. “I liked it right away. I still have my old practice chart that we had to fill out for practicing 15 minutes a day. And every single day is filled out.” He decided to pursue a career as a musician during his second year at University of Oklahoma, when he was juggling both math and music studies. The math was becoming too demanding and took away from time he needed to practice. When it came down to it, he preferred the horn.  

After graduating, he ended up getting his master’s at Juilliard, spending two years in New York City and picking up some part-time positions along the way. He won his first full-time orchestra job with the San Antonio Symphony. “The orchestra sounded fantastic. It paid the bills and it was a great place to learn. My family’s all from Texas, so it was nice to be close to them.”  

He moved on to the Seattle Symphony a few years later and has been here through four music directors. He says Xian “brings this sense of joy to the stage. It is very inviting to us, as the musicians, to make music with her. It’s not for her. It’s not dictated by her; we’re creating it together. I like the freedom that she gives us to do that. And she’s a wonderful organizer and unifier of all of those sounds we make.” 

He's been a regular with the Seattle Chamber Music Society for years — he joins SCMS musicians for Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos at Benaroya Hall this month — but prefers to spend the bulk of his free time with kids Iris (15) and Henry (12), and wife and Assistant Principal Viola Mara Gearman.  

He participates in various activities with his kids. Lately, it’s been indoor rock-climbing with Henry. “I like both the physical and mental process of figuring out how you’re going to get up to the top, and it’s fun bonding over the challenges.” With Iris, it’s soccer. “She’s on her high school soccer team and so I go to a lot of soccer games. And my foot skills have gotten a little better too from attempting to keep up with her!” 

He enjoys experiencing the area’s bounty of nautical offerings, from fishing for Dungeness crab and spot prawns (“You can do this anywhere between here and the San Juan Islands”) to boating with the family; they are part of a local boat club, where they share a vessel with other members, and they get out on the water whenever time allows. “Our favorite activity is taking a boat to Bainbridge Island and enjoying a wood-fired pizza at Bruciato restaurant.”  

Jeffrey Fair’s position is generously underwritten as the Charles Simonyi Principal Horn.