She was a French horn player, teacher, herbalist and aromatherapies born in Saint Louis, Missouri.
She studied music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and while there she met her husband, the tubaist Jeff Hoard.
As well as studying herbalism since 1976 she also appeared as a chamber musician, orchestra member and soloist and spent 11 years in Hong Kong as Principal Horn of the Hong Kong Philharmonic.
On her return to the US she was the Assistant Horn with the San Jose Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, the National Opera, Keith Brion’s New Sousa Band and the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, and still regularly performed with the Alabama Symphony, the Gateway Brass Quintet, Holiday Brass and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra as well as being a previous board member of the Metro Winds.
The winner of several prizes in competitions in her early career, she was the winner of the Diablo Symphony Concerto Competition in 1979 and won second prize in the Heldenleben International Horn Competition.
In the field of education she was a horn teacher at various universities in Hong Kong. During her very busy schedule as a musician she also become a highly regarded aromatherapist and herbalist and was an aromatherapy consultant for Time Life Books. She also lectured on the subject at the St. Louis University Medical School and St. Louis College of Pharmacy among others and owns Cheryl’s Herbs in Saint Louis, which supplies herbs, essential oils and aromatherapy products.
She passed away at home in Richmond Heights, Missouri in May 2015, when she was 57 years old.
Holiday Brass recordings
Angels We Have Heard on High (Traditional French/James Chadwick/Edward Barnes)
Music Masters 01782 (CD: Holiday Brass featuring Susan Slaughter)
Trumpet – Susan Slaughter
St. Louis Children’s Choirs – Concert Choir
She performs “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” here with the Gateway Brass Quintet…
Sources:
- http://40southnews.com/cheryl-of-cheryls-herbs-has-died-memorial-to-be-at-shop/
- https://obittree.com/obituary/us/missouri/saint-louis/american-cremation-of-saint-louis/cheryl-hoard/2156630/
- http://www.cherylsherbs.com/Cheryl_Bio.htm
- http://www.cherylsherbs.com/cheryl_&_jeff.htm
- http://www.gatewaybrassquintet.com/Members.htm
- http://www.springboardtolearning.org/artists/h.htm
- http://www.theida.com/page_2c.htm