I was always impressed by the tonal qualities of the older Schmidt and Geyer horns, but because of their age they are becoming increasingly difficult to find.
When I began making horns a number of people asked me if it might be possible to make a horn that had the admirable qualities of the older instruments but didn't have the inherent problems that many of them had.
I believe that to make similar horns, one must use similar methods of production, hence my instruments are meticulously handcrafted to the most exacting specifications. While spending more time on each individual horn increases the price and reduces my profit, I believe that Berg horns are the finest horns available anywhere.
-Keith Berg
Keith Berg was born in 1955, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. From his earliest childhood, music was an integral part of Keith's life. He began singing in a children's choir at the age of five and started playing horn at thirteen. After leaving high school, Keith remained musically active and began training as a machinist, For fourteen years he worked on a variety of projects in this field culminating in four and a half years of work as a maker of scientific instruments. It was here that Keith's ability to work to exact tolerances and his intuitive knowledge of metals blossomed. During this time Keith's musical career had also progressed and he was playing in the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra.
While Keith was studying at the Banff Centre, Roland Pandolfi suggested that he combine his love of music with his expertise in metalworking and become a horn maker. In 1987, Keith went to Oslo, Norway to study horn making with Daniel Rauch who generously passed on the tradition and skills which he had learned from Carl Geyer and others. A year later, with the aid of a grant from The Canada Council, Keith began work on his first double horn. Keith's horns have evolved through ongoing consultation with some of the most prominent musicians in major orchestras around the world, many of whom now own a Berg horn.
Keith lives in Dunster, British Columbia (in the beautiful Robson Valley) where in his free time he hikes, canoes, and skis with his wife and business partner Jane Houlden (a professional horn player).
