Prominent Oboists of Today

Listening to great oboists is probably the best thing you can do for yourself when learning and improving on the oboe. You want to know what you want to sound like! Wonderfully, today it is easy to listen to them all online. Here is a list of some oboists in prominent positions so that maybe you can expand your own personal list of favorite oboists and your favorite sounds on oboe.

This list is in no particular order other than starting with the principle oboists of what are considered the best orchestras in the United States and the world and finishing with some other favorite oboists.

Liang Wang

Liang Wang has been principal oboist of the New York Philharmonic since 2006. He was born in Quing Dao, China and began studying oboe at the early age of seven! He has a Bachelor’s from the Curtis Institute where he studied with Richard Woodhams. He is now on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music. See a more extensive bio here.

John Ferrillo

Principal oboist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 2001, John Ferrillo grew up in Massechusetts and the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. He graduated from the Curtis Institute and studied with John de Lancie.  He serves on the faculties of the New England Conservatory, Boston University, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. You can read more about him here.

Frank Rosenwein

Frank Rosenwein is the principal oboist of the Cleveland Orchestra and received his bachelor’s from the Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied with John Mack and his master’s from the Julliard School of Music. He was born in Illinois and performs chamber music frequently. Find out more about him here and take a listen.

Phillippe Tondre

Born in Mulhouse France, Philippe Tondre has recently become the principal oboist of the Philadelphia Orchestra succeeding Richard Woodhams. He has won numerous prizes in various competitions and he studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de
Musique in Paris. He was nominated for the position of professor of oboe at Hochschule für Musik Saar in Germany. For many more details on his impressive list of accomplishments, go here.

William Welter

A graduate of the Curtis Institute, William Welter is the principal oboist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He grew up in Iowa and studied with Richard Woodhams as well as Eugene Izotov, the former principal of the Chicago Symphony. He also studied at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara and the Oberlin Conservatory. He has a biography here.

Harald Horth

Originally a clarinetist and pianist, Harald Horth is now the principal oboist of the Vienna Philharmonic. He has studied with several oboists including Heinz Holliger and played principal for several groups over his extensive career. Read more about him here.

Jonathan Kelly

A principal oboist of the Berlin Philharmonic, Jonathan Kelly is from Petersfield, England and wanted to join the Berlin Philharmonic since he was a boy. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music and the Paris Conservatoire and has three daughters. You can find out more about him here.

Albrecht Mayer

Another principal of the Berlin Philharmonic, Albrecht Mayor is even more well known as a soloist. He has been involved in performing since he was very young and plays on an instrument that he was involved in designing himself called the Albrecht Mayor model. You can see more here and here.

Juliana Koch

Juliana Koch is the principal oboist of the the London Symphony. She used to have the same position in the oldest orchestra in the world, the Royal Danish Orchestra in Copenhagen. She has studied with Francois Leleux and worked with Pierre Boulez and Heinz Holliger. She has received many prizes from very prestigious competitions including the ARD Competition in Munich. Read about her more here.

Ramon Ortega Quero

The principal oboist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Ramon Ortega Quero became the second Spaniard to hold this position in this orchestra starting 2018. He won first prize in the ARD music competition in Munich 2007 and in 2015 he played the world premiere of Oscar Navarro’s oboe concerto “Legacy” that the composer dedicated to Quero. In his 2010-2011 season he was nominated as “Rising Star” by the European Concert Hall Organization which opened up many more performance opportunities for him that you can read about here.

Elaine Douvas

Elaine Douvas is the principal oboist of the Metropolitan Opera and a professor at Juilliard School, Mannes College, and Bard College Conservatory. She studied with John Mack at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She has had a position in the Atlanta Symphony, she was a guest performer several times at the New York Philharmonic as well as other orchestras, she continues to teach and hold oboe seminars, and she’s great at figure skating as well! Read more about her accomplishments here.

Eugene Izotov

Eugene Izotov is the first Russian-born oboist to be principal in a major American orchestra. He studied at both the Gnesin School of Music and the Boston University School of Fine Arts, and he has won high awards in competitions in Russia, the States, and the Fernand Gillet International Competition. He teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and was previously on the faculty of the Julliard School and DePaul University. He continues to teach very regularly across the world. Find more about him here.

Heinz Holliger

Known as an oboe virtuoso, Heinz Holliger was born in Switzerland and studied at the Bern Conservatory as well as with Pierre Pierlot in Paris. Holliger adopted more of the French style of oboe playing despite his roots and his extensive career includes a mastery of extended techniques on oboe. He is also a composer and his pieces can be heard on some of his many albums. Read more about him here.

Richard Woodhams

Richard Woodhams was the previous principal oboist of the Philadelphia orchestra. He has already been mentioned in this post as an influential oboist and he has been teaching at the Curtis Institute of Music since 1985. His students play in prominent positions across the world today and you can find out more about him here.

Alex Klein

Alex Klein has performed as an oboe soloist since he was ten and still living in his homeland Brazil. He studied at the Oberlin Conservatory and was the principal of the Chicago Symphony orchestra for nine years after Ray Still. Before Chicago, he founded the Chamber Music Society of Seattle. Read more about him here.

This list is definitely not exhaustive, but maybe you found someone new you are interested in! Who of these do you most look up to?