Andrea Carlson

Andrea (Ande) Carlson has been a musician with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra’s horn section since 1993, when she joined as Assistant Principal and Substitute Horn while earning her Nursing degree at Augustana College. Since 2010, she has served as SDSO’s Fourth Horn. Ande also is the Principal Horn of the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra and performs with the Sioux City Symphony Brass Quintet.

Ande teaches horn at Augustana University, Dordt University, and Northwestern College, and maintains a thriving private studio cultivated over thirty years. She is currently piloting a program with the Sioux City Symphony’s Educational Outreach to bring music to students at the Pier Center for Autism. “There are so many life lessons you can teach beyond the horn. I want to equip my students with skills for music and life.”

She studied with Sara Cyrus, Nathan Pawelek, Herb Winslow (St. Paul Chamber Orchestra), and Michael Thompson (BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra). A Registered Nurse, she has worked with the Mayo Medical System and Sanford Health.

Ande and her husband Kevin have called Sioux Falls home for 30 years. All three of their children are former South Dakota Symphony Youth Orchestra musicians who continue to make music a part of their lives.