Madeline Partridge: horn player and chem major

Madeline Partridge has more than a few things in common with the rest of us Mt. Hood students: For instance, she’s constantly busy with school work.

What sets this young student apart, you might ask? She plays horn in both Wind Ensemble and Orchestra, she’s majoring in chemistry, she likes playing hurling, and she’s her own individual, like everyone else.

“I started playing horn when I was in seventh grade,” said Partridge, now in her third year at MHCC. That was eight years ago. With an entire family involved in music, and a grandpa who plays French horn, it was easy for her to fall in love with the brass instrument. She recalled a moment, saying, “I was 3 and one of my first memories is hearing my grandpa practicing – I remember him playing, and always being kind of entranced by it.” She described it as a “weird” and “crazy” instrument that not very many people play.

Generally when asked about horn, people will refer to the more common trumpet, said Partridge. She explained, “you probably shouldn’t say that to a horn player, we get a little bit offended – not to throw trumpet players under the bus.”

From sixth grade, Partridge knew she wanted to play horn but actually started with low brass (the trombone, euphonium, and tuba family of instruments), then “was able to switch to horn, which is kind of an unusual change.” The talented musician has been playing the instrument since age 12 and says it’s gotten her through tough times and makes for a nice break from chemistry.

Currently Partridge is taking organic chemistry and calculus, along with her music courses. This is her last year at MHCC and then she will transfer to Southern Oregon University to major in forensic chemistry. “As boring as it sounds, I would like to have a lab job,” she said – but being able to get to college and have actual fields of degrees one could go into is even better. Getting a forensics job with Multnomah County or the federal DEA doing case labwork is what she hopes for.

Though she plans to major in chemistry, she still wants to keep playing horn. Playing gives her a break from a long day of chemistry and calculus block classes.

“It’s nice to have something that’s not so linear, and not quite so many rules, where you can be a little more creative,” she said.

In what Partridge calls her “five minutes of free time,” she plays a sport called hurling. Hurling is Ireland’s nation sport and one of the oldest sports in history. “It’s kind of like lacrosse and field hockey,” she explained. She plays for a club team consisting of all men and one woman – her. Just like in any sport, the point is to get the ball to the other side, she said – getting the leather ball under the goal is three points, and over the goal is one point.

Partridge tries to spend time with friends outside of school, but ends up spending the majority of her time studying, practicing, and hurling.

On Thursday evening, she performed with the Wind Ensemble and Orchestra, under MHCC instructor Grant Linsell. The groups are scheduled for another Mt. Hood concert on June 2.

And looking forward, Partridge plans on continuing to playing horn throughout her life, possibly joining a community group.