Oboe

Nathan Hughes, a native of Saint Paul, MN, is Principal Oboe of the Minnesota Orchestra and a faculty member at The Juilliard School and Lynn Conservatory of Music.  Previously Principal Oboe of the Metropolitan Opera and the Seattle Symphony, he has recorded, toured, and made guest appearances as Principal Oboe with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony.

 An avid chamber musician, Hughes has performed with the Chamber Music Societies in Philadelphia, La Jolla, Seattle, and Brooklyn, as well as ChamberFest Cleveland, and Chamber Music Pittsburgh.  In addition, he has made appearances at many festivals including Aspen, Bridgehampton, Lucerne, Marlboro, Salzburg, Santa Fe, Sarasota, Spoleto, and Tanglewood.  He has received critical acclaim for his performances as a concerto soloist with the MET Chamber Ensemble at Carnegie Hall, Minnesota Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra, La Jolla SummerFest Chamber Orchestra, and Verbier Festival Orchestra. 

 A dedicated teacher, his students have earned significant positions in numerous major symphony orchestras.  Hughes earned degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and The Juilliard School and has presented masterclasses at the Curtis and Cleveland Institutes, New World Symphony, Eastman, Oberlin, and Indiana University, as well as internationally at the Munich Hochschule in Germany, National University in Korea, Stockholm Royal College of Music in Sweden, Toronto Royal Conservatory in Canada, Pacific Music Festival in Japan, and Verbier Festival in Switzerland.