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The Chicago Symphony Orchestra family mourns the loss of Clarendon Van Norman, former principal horn, who died on Sunday, April 18, 2021, at home in Monroe Township, New Jersey. He was ninety.
Born in Galesburg, Illinois, on August 23, 1930, Van Norman attended Galesburg High School, and after graduating in 1948, he began studies at the Juilliard School in New York City. After serving as a sergeant in the Airmen of Note in the United States Air Force during the Korean War from 1950 to 1954, he graduated from Juilliard in 1957. Van Norman also earned a doctorate in education from Columbia University, graduating in 1965.
Van Norman served as principal horn in the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra for two seasons before seventh music director Jean Martinon invited him to the same position in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, beginning in the fall of 1963. After serving for two seasons, he joined the orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera, performing as co-principal horn and third horn until his retirement in 1990.
In his retirement, Van Norman was a member of the Long Island Antiquarian Book Dealers Association, Rotary International, and the First Presbyterian Church in Levittown, New York, where he helped with various church committees. He also was an antiquarian book dealer, taught in his private horn studio, and was a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Alumni Association.
Clarendon Van Norman is survived by his wife of forty-three years, Linda Van Norman, along with his two sons, Mark (Shenan) and Thomas (Kali), daughter May (Terrence) Van Norman, and sister Marilyn Van Norman, as well as six grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his daughter Diane and son Steven Emery. Services will be private.
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