Alicia Michele Waite

Alicia Waite has served as Fourth Horn of the Oregon Symphony since her appointment in 2008, and in the 2022-2023 season, she stepped in to the role of Acting Second Horn. Prior to winning her seat in Oregon, she held positions with the Virginia Symphony in Norfolk and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. She performs regularly as a substitute musician with the San Francisco Symphony and has also performed in this capacity with the Seattle and Milwaukee symphonies. During the summer months, Alicia has appeared with numerous festivals including Chamber Music Northwest, Santa Fe Opera, Grand Teton Music Festival, Colorado Music Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, and Britt Festival.

In addition to her symphonic work, Alicia is an avid chamber musician. She enjoys opportunities to perform in small ensembles with 45th Parallel Universe and Chatter PDX, and she has been a guest artist at Chintimini Chamber Music Festival. Beginning in the fall of 2025, Alicia joined the staff of Reed College teaching individual horn lessons.

Although Alicia is an Oregon native, born in Bend, she grew up primarily in Fort Collins, Colorado where she studied horn with Jack Herrick. Alicia moved to the Midwest after high school to continue her formal education in music. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree, as a student of James DeCorsey, from Lawrence University. She continued her studies at Northwestern University where she earned a Master of Music degree. While at Northwestern, Alicia studied with William Barnewitz, former Principal Horn of the Milwaukee Symphony, and Gail Williams, former Associate Principal Horn of the Chicago Symphony. Additional teachers included British soloist Michael Thompson and Daniel Gingrich, retired Associate Principal Horn of the Chicago Symphony.

Outside of music, Alicia enjoys running with her partner Geoff, and she captains a long-standing Hood to Coast relay team called Band-in-a-Van made up of musicians from orchestras across the country.