Will Sanders was born in the Netherlands. He comes from a musical family and
received his first music lessons from his grandfather and father. He started his horn
studies very early with Hubert Crüts at the Hogeschool Zuyd in Maastricht, where he
later continued his studies with Prof. Erich Penzel.
In 1986, he graduated with distinction and became a member of the European Union
Youth Orchestra under Claudio Abbado. In the same year he became deputy solo
horn player at the National theater Mannheim and got to know the opera repertoire
from Mozart’s Così fan tutte to Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten. In 1988, he was
appointed solo hornist in the Radio Symphony Orchestra of the SWR Baden-Baden.
In 1990, he won the position of Solo-Hornist of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich.
In addition to his work in the orchestra and as a soloist, Will Sanders was also a
member of various chamber music ensembles such as the Linos Ensemble, the Wind
Art Ensemble, and German Brass. Together with Stefan Dohr, he co-founded the German Horn Ensemble, where he played first horn.
The Bayreuth Festival appointed him solo hornist in 1992 and in 1996, he became successor of Gerd Seifert in the position of leader of the Bayreuth Festival horn group and Siegfried’s-Call hornplayer. He was often invited as a guest on solo horn by the Vienna Philharmonic. Working with great personalities such as Leonard Bernstein, Georg Solti, Carlos
Kleiber, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Metha, Riccardo Muti, James Levine, and Daniel Barenboim shaped his musical career.
Will Sanders has taught horn at the Hogeschool Zuyd in Maastricht since
1995. In 1999, he was appointed professor at the Karlsruhe University of Music.
Teaching classical music, horn, chamber music, and conducting has become his
passion. Will Sanders’ innovative nature is evident not only in the development of new playing techniques for the horn, but also in the development of mouthpieces, a new patented rotary valve, and new horn models.
Due to Will Sanders’ diverse musical and educational insights, many of his students have positions in first-class orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, NHK Orchestra Japan, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, and Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá.
His students also work in professorships and teaching positions at universities around the world such as Tokyo University of the Arts Geidai, the Colburn School Los Angeles, the Conservatory of Music Shanghai, the National University of Colombia, the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, and the Academy of Music in Kraków.
Will Sanders has been mentor of the German Youth Orchestra since 1998, and has
organized the Alemanha–Brasil Festival annually on behalf of the DAAD since
2002. He is regularly invited to international competitions and festivals in the USA,
Japan, China, Europe, Russia, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela.
