Carla Blackwood has established a reputation as one of Australia’s most versatile and creative horn players. She maintains a diverse career as soloist, chamber musician and orchestral performer, and is renowned for the creative musicianship and masterful phrasing she brings to her work. Equally at home on both modern and historical horns, she brings excitement and refinement to her performance and promotion of new music, historically informed performance on early instruments, and chamber music performed at the highest level.
On historical natural horns, Carla is Principal Horn of the Orchestra of the Antipodes (Pinchgut Opera), the Australian Haydn Ensemble, and Genesis Baroque; her 2024 performance of Julius Caesar received critical acclaim. On modern horn, she performs regularly with leading Australian ensembles including the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Liaison, and the Australia Ensemble, and is a founding member of Lyrebird Brass, Quercus Trio and the Australian Wind Quintet.
Carla is a sought-after teacher and mentor. She is Senior Lecturer in French Horn Performance and Associate Director, Individual Performance Studies, at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, and was Horn Faculty at the Australian National Academy of Music from 2021–2025.
Previously, Carla was Principal Horn of the Tiroler Symphonieorchester Innsbruck and Professor of Horn at the Tiroler Landeskonservatorium. She has appeared as guest Principal Horn with major European orchestras and has held orchestral contracts across Australia and Europe.
MCM Horn Class.
Image from Pinchgut Opera’s performance of Handel’s Julius Caesar. Photo credit: Brett Boardman.
Carla is an active and passionate researcher. She recently completed her PhD, Making the French Horn Australian, in which she wrote the first history of the French horn in Australia, and is a passionate advocate for the celebration, and exploration, of Australian music.
When Carla is not working she is most likely found bushwalking somewhere in Australia with her son, where the stars are bright and the nature ripe for immersion. Her artistic practice is grounded in her love of the bush, and enthusiasm for connecting with others, with nature, and with things that really matter.
