Oboist Erin Hannigan is the newly appointed Professor of Oboe at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, a position she will begin in 2025/26.  She has been the principal oboist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra since 2001 and, before coming to Dallas, she was a member of the Rochester Philharmonic. Other orchestral engagements include those as guest principal oboist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Minnesota Orchestra. 

Hannigan has been a member of the Southern Methodist University faculty since 2002, where she is adjunct associate professor of oboe. She was previously a faculty member at the Eastman School of Music as instructor of Baroque oboe from 1996 to 2001. She has performed and taught at numerous summer festivals, including the Mainly Mozart All-Star Orchestra, the STRINGS Festival, the National Repertory Orchestra, National Orchestral Institute, National Youth Orchestra, the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Festival Napa Valley, and the Festival-Institute at Round Top.

In 2018, Hannigan received the prestigious Ford Musician Award for Excellence in Community Service from the League of American Orchestras for her annual Concert for Kindness, which has raised over $450,000 for animal rescue organizations. 

In 2012 Hannigan organized and recorded two CDs of the complete Zelenka Sonatas, available through Crystal Records (CD821 and CD822). In June 2008, Hannigan’s first solo CD, From Hafiz to Firewing (and Beyond), was released, also on the Crystal Records label (CD 820).

Hannigan attended the Oberlin Conservatory where she studied with James Caldwell. She received her master’s degree, the prestigious Performer’s Certificate, and the 2021 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Eastman School of Music, where she was a student of Richard Killmer.