“Playing any wind instrument is a feat in its own right … but Felix Klieser, who was born without arms, had to rely on his feet to pursue his dream of playing the French horn while still a toddler,” writes Ewan Somerville in Thursday’s (11/18) Telegraph (U.K.). “After decades of carving out a career as a professional hornist, the 30-year-old has now made his UK concerto debut with … the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra … in front of a global audience live-streamed online…. The German professional hornist plays by using his left foot to action valves while his horn rests on a specially made stand…. Now Mr Klieser has begun a two-year tenure as the artist in residence at BSO…. At 17, Mr Klieser enrolled at the prestigious Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover [and] in 2014 won Germany’s major classical music award the Echo Klassik.… He … has six albums…. He has worked with the UK’s One-Handed Musical Instrument Trust to make instruments more accessible to those with physical disabilities. Dougie Scarfe, the chief executive of Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, said: ‘Felix is a phenomenal musician, his energy and drive is utterly captivating.’ ”
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