Appearances
New York Philharmonic, 2026; National Arts Center Orchestra, 2026; NEPA Philharmonic, 2026; WA Sinfonietta, 2025, 2026; National Orchestral Institute, 2024, 2025
Was there a teacher who was particularly impactful/helpful? What made this instructor stand out?
My teacher before college, Sandra Lisicky, and my undergraduate and graduate teacher, Robert Botti. The knowledge and encouragement I’ve received from them has been indispensable to my journey, and I can’t imagine where I would be without them.
What made you decide to become a musician? Was there a particular performance or person that influenced your decision?
There was never any singular moment, more of a gradual then exponential increase in interest and adoration. I think every performance I’ve attended and performed added to the progression. Some of the earlier memories would be attending the Symphony in Baltimore, my hometown, which has a fantastic oboe section.
How would you like to see orchestra concerts evolve in the future?
I’d like to see more thematic programming, something that tells a story or makes interesting and exciting connections between pieces. I also would like to see more experimentation in the setting and purpose. I like the idea of having a more casual series of concerts that could include food and conversation. Not every piece works well in such a setting but there are many, especially from the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods, that were made exactly for such settings, and perhaps we would recapture some of their true essences by putting them back in similar environments.
What is the most memorable performance you ever had?
There’ve been quite a few memorable concerts by now. If I had to choose just one, maybe playing principal on Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in the National Cathedral with Marin Alsop. It was honestly one of the most difficult pieces I’ve ever played, requiring lots of flexibility, subtlety, and endurance. It was one of those pieces where you have no choice but to truly focus the entire time and live in the moment.
What is your proudest achievement as a musician?
Probably getting an opportunity to play with the NY Phil next to my teacher. I really appreciate how welcoming the section felt, and the music (Return of the Jedi) was exhaustingly challenging, but I enjoyed the challenge and am extremely grateful for the opportunity.
Tell us about a time you almost gave up but didn’t.
I think any musician has moments of self doubt, most of us on a very regular basis. I find that it comes and goes in waves, sometimes depending on tangible successes and failures, sometimes for no reason at all. I usually just do what I can and ride the ups and downs as they come.
Do you have a favorite non-classical musician or band?
Hard to name just one, I like a wide variety of music. A few favorites would probably be Nine Inch Nails, Miles Davis, Bjork, Gentle Giant, Dead Kennedys, Zakir Hussain, John McLaughlin, Eric Dolphy, Chris Thile, Tom Waits, Bela Fleck, Jacob Collier, Pink Floyd, Hiromi, etc.
If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing?
Likely something still related to music or art in general, but it’s hard to say for sure!
What is a surprising part of playing your instrument that you think most people don’t know?
As oboists we have to make our own reeds, which takes thousands of dollars of equipment and lots of time. I would guess most oboists spend more time working on reeds than practicing, in the U.S. at least. It does allow us to have a wide variety of sounds since we have such direct control of the production.