Iona Pay is a freelance hornist performing in orchestral, chamber, and studio settings in Los Angeles and San Diego.
Her festival attendances include the American Brass Quintet Seminar at the Aspen Music Festival (AMF) in 2019, the National Brass Ensemble Academy at SFCM in 2022, the National Orchestral Institute (NOI) in 2024. She served as a Teaching Artist for NOI’s annual collaboration with the Hawaii Youth Symphony in 2025. Iona has also been invited to study at Domaine Forget De Charlevoix International Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival (EMF), and The Orchestra Now (TŌN).
In 2023, she co-founded the Los Angeles Brass Alliance (LAB-A), a brass collective platforming emerging brass musicians with a focus on new music. Since the ensemble’s inception, LAB-A has commissioned 25 new works for brass by L.A. based composers.
In addition to her performances with the Santa Monica Symphony, Iona can be heard with the Southern California Brass Consortium, West Side Chamber Orchestra, West Coast Wind Symphony, Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra, and other ensembles. Recently, she was a semifinalist at the 2026 Hollywood Bowl Orchestra second and fourth horn auditions.
Iona received her bachelor’s in Horn Performance from the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music under prominent Los Angeles freelancer Amy Sanchez. Other notable teachers include Richard Deane (New York Philharmonic, Assoc. Principal Horn), Annie Bosler (Studio Hornist, Educator) and Warren Gref (San Diego Symphony, Second Horn).
