Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Nikolette LaBonte, a native of South Florida, has quickly emerged as a distinguished performer in the field of orchestral horn playing. Nikolette is tenured as the Associate/Assistant/Utility Horn of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. She joined the RPO in 2016 but prior to that, LaBonte was appointed acting assistant principal horn of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra in 2015. While living and working with the orchestra in Honolulu, she also served as the associate principal horn of the Hawaii Opera Theater and Oahu Choral Society. In addition to the RPO and HSO, she has had the opportunity to perform with orchestras across the country including the New York Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic, New World Symphony, and Syracuse-based Symphoria and recently performed as a soloist with the Eastman Horn Choir.
LaBonte returned to Rochester not only as a performer, but also to complete her undergraduate degree coursework at the Eastman School of Music. In addition to this, she is a member of several chamber ensembles including the Antara Winds and HardCOR quartet, currently maintains a private studio, and is a guest clinician with the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. Outside of the concert hall, LaBonte is active in promoting classical music throughout the community. She is on the staff of the Kendall Betts Horn Camp, previously worked as the education coordinator of the Hawaii Symphony, and is the co-creator and coordinator of “Olympic Overtures”, a multimedia project designed to spread awareness of classical music through collaboration with Olympic athletes. Away from the horn, she enjoys hiking and scuba diving, although she has to reserve the latter for her visits to more tropical climates.
nlabontehorn@gmail.com