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Russ deLuna

Russ deLuna playing oboe

Contact

Office 327

Courses Taught

Applied Oboe/English Horn

Education

MA, Boston University

BA, Northwestern University

Ensembles

San Francisco Symphony, 2007-Present

Atlanta Ballet Orchestra, 2000-2006

Atlanta Opera, 1992-2006

Q&A

What is your hometown?

Niles, OH

What is your favorite recording?

Peter Bowman playing Vivaldi’s F Major Oboe Concerto.

What are you passionate about outside of music?

Working out.

Who were your major teachers?

Ralph Gomberg, Jonathan Dlouhy, and Ray Still.

What is a favorite quote that you repeatedly tell students?

“The recovery is more important than the mistake!”

What question do you wish students would ask sooner rather than later?

How to practice!

What was the defining moment when you decided to pursue music as a career?

When I was asked as a student at Northwestern to play Mahler 6 with the Chicago Symphony!

What was a turning point in your career?

Winning my job with the San Francisco Symphony in 2006!

If you weren't a musician or teacher, what do you think you would be doing now?

Maybe a chef!

What is your daily practice routine?

Making reeds for whatever is coming up and making sure I hit the basics (i.e. scales etc. before I practice for work!)

If you could play only three composers for the rest of your life, who would they be?

Mahler, Mozart, and Bach!

From a music history perspective, what year and city are most important to you?

1700s, Weimar.

What are your most important collaborations?

Chamber music with Robert Spano; Loeffler Rhapsodies with Charlie Pickler.

Who have you had the privilege of teaching?

Merideth Hite and Jeffrey Stephens.

What recordings can we hear you on?

Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, DVD with San Francisco Symphony

Mahler: Das Leid von der Erde with San Francisco Symphony

What is your unrealized project?

Solo recording!