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.
Program Facts
- Program Type: Major, Performance Diploma, Artist Diploma
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- Bachelor of Music (BM)
- Performance Diploma (PDip)
- Artist Diploma (ADip)
- Division: Winds, Brass, and Percussion
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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 EnsemblesOpportunities 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.
Residencies for 2020-21
Nathan Hughes
Principal Oboe, Metropolitan Opera
Elaine Douvas
Principal Oboe Metropolitan Opera
Eugene Izotov
Principal Oboe, San Francisco Symphony
Chris Philpotts
Principal English Horn, Cincinnati Symphony
Robert Atherholt
former Principal Oboe, Houston Symphony
William Welter
Principal Oboe, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
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.
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
Oboe News
Oberlin Alumni Win Grammys at 63rd Annual Awards Ceremony
March 15, 2021
Twine, a Student Life App, Announces Launch
October 2, 2020
‘‘Rands at Oberlin’’ Features English Horn Professor Robert Walters, Oberlin Ensembles
April 21, 2020
Life After Oberlin
Oboe and double-degree graduates are prepared to pursue professional music careers as soloists or with a range of ensembles—from major orchestras to contemporary chamber groups; many earn principal appointments. Others work in schools, conservatories, and in professions outside of music.