Cally Banham, English horn — Tango to the Cor; with Cortango
There’s only one English horn in the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and Cally Banham has filled that chair for the past 18 years.
But in 2015, she took the English horn in a new direction by creating Cortango, a tango, classical and jazz fusion ensemble that also features members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. At the heart of the group is the cor anglais, also known as the English horn. The group’s second recording is called Tango to the Cor.
You were first introduced to tango by taking tango dance lessons. What inspired you to do that?
“Before I came to St. Louis, I was in the Buffalo Philharmonic. I had played with the New World Symphony and the Memphis Symphony, and when I came here to St. Louis, after about four years, I started looking around and thinking, ‘Maybe I can have a hobby now.’
“I was interested in tango, and so I went to a free class and a milonga, as we call the tango parties, to check it out. And that night, I began a huge love affair with the art form, with the dance and the music, but mostly the music.
“And one time in class, I said, ‘Oh, I love this music so much, I wish I could play it.’ And one of my classmates said, ‘Well, you're a professional musician, why can't you?’ And I said, ‘Well, of course I can!’ I just needed to create the arrangements and the group myself, in order to include the nontraditional instrument of the English horn in tango music.
“So here we are, 10 years later, and we have a huge songbook of arrangements that have been commissioned by me for the group.”
Resources
Cally Banham, English horn — Tango to the Cor; with Cortango (Amazon)
Cally Banham (official site)
Cortango (official site)
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