Program Overview

Oboe

The oboe studio's supportive atmosphere enhances weekly private lessons, studio classes, and collaborative orchestral excerpt classes with master teacher Robert Walters. He enjoys a worldwide reputation and decades of varied performance experience as an orchestral solo English horn player and chamber musician.

William Welter '18 performing with Robert Walters
Chicago Symphony Orchestra principal oboe William Welter '18 performs with Oberlin professor Robert Walters.
Photo credit: Scott Shaw

Program Facts

  • Program Type: Major, Performance Diploma, Artist Diploma
    • Bachelor of Music (BM)
    • Performance Diploma (PDip)
    • Artist Diploma (ADip)
  • Division: Winds, Brass, and Percussion

Contact

Robert Walters, Professor of Oboe and English Horn
440-775-8211
Robert.Walters@oberlin.edu
students rehearsing with Henry Threadgill
Students rehearse with composer-instrumentalist Henry Threadgill in Clonick Hall.
Photo credit: Julie Gulenko '15

Time to Play

We place first-year students among returning students equally and fairly within the sections of all ensembles. We nurture them in a collaborative studio environment to inspire personal growth and development. Through orchestral, chamber music, jazz, improvisational, and historical through contemporary music for the oboe, we encourage versatility and provide immense breadth of experience.

Performance Ensembles

Opportunities for Oboe

Ensemble experience is an essential component of Oberlin’s professional training; starting in the first semester, each student is assigned to and rotated through the major ensembles, one person per part. Oboe students may pursue solo performances through the annual Concerto Competition and can play in at least six of the more than two dozen performance ensembles on campus.

Private Study

Individualized instruction is a hallmark of the conservatory. Students learn the art of balancing technical skills with natural musical growth and experience. The chief goal through private study is to help students progress in all phases of performing: technique, style, musicianship, interpretation, and repertoire. Oboe students have access to and instruction on auxiliary instruments including English horn, oboe d'amore, and heckelphone. This exposure ensures that Oberlin woodwind students are prepared for the greatest possible variety of professional opportunities.

Artist Residencies

Each year, prominent oboists from across the country spend time on Oberlin's campus leading master classes and meeting with oboe students. In recent years, these artists have included Nathan Hughes and Elaine Douvas, principal oboists with the Metropolitan Opera; Eugene Izotov, principal oboe, of the San Francisco Symphony; Chris Philpotts, principal English horn of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; Robert Atherholt, former principal oboe of the Houston Symphony; and William Welter, principal oboe of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
 

 

Sample Courses

  • WELL 110 - Introduction to Body Mapping (2 credits)
  • APST 802 - Orchestral Repertoire for Woodwinds (2 credits)
  • APST 805 - Contemporary Chamber Music (2 credits)
  • PHYS 054 - Musical Acoustics (4 credits)
Curriculum and requirements

Master Classes

Weekly studio classes and regular master classes for oboe students involve mock orchestral auditions, reinforcement of fundamentals, chamber music performances, solo recital performances, guest master classes, and many other types of performance opportunities. We encourage students to support their colleagues with positive and constructive feedback. Oberlin cultivates a learning environment in which students are open to making mistakes without consequence in larger public performances.

Eugene Izotov with student
Eugene Izotov leads an oboe master class in Stull Recital Hall.
Photo credit: Julie Gulenko '15

Oboe Faculty

Conservatory faculty maintain active performance schedules while remaining accessible and committed to their students. Individual instruction is paramount to helping students develop their mechanical, technical, stylistic, psychological, and musical skills.

I try to convey music to students in such a way that is at once professionally specific but also has broader, deeper implications so they can have a lifelong, deep relationship to it that’s very satisfying.

Robert Walters, Professor of Oboe and English Horn

Explore Faculty within Oboe

Oboe News

View all Oboe news

Life After Oberlin

Notable Oberlin Alumni

William Welter ’18 (Artist Diploma)

Principal Oboe, Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Virginia McDowell ’15

Principal Oboe, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, New Orleans

Cassie Pilgrim ’20 (Artist Diploma)

Principal Oboe, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra