Kathy Halvorson…A Wisconsin native, Kathy is one of the most versatile oboists working today, as both an improviser and accomplished classical oboist. She was principal oboe with the Symphony Orchestra de Mineria in Mexico City, and formerly oboist for the Broadway Musical On the Town in New York City and the 2017 North American tour of Les Misérables.
“Familiar melodies …delivered gracefully, with gorgeous oboe support from Kathy Halvorson”—Boston Globe
Kathy Halvorson, an international artist…
She has performed often with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the American Symphony and New Jersey Symphony Orchestras, Argento Ensemble, Alarm Will Sound, and Jupiter Chamber Players, as well as principal oboe with the Berkshire Opera and the Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic.
She has been the oboist with Sylvan Winds since 2008, and recorded two CDs with the group.Sylvan Winds were featured at the Chamber Music America Conference in January of 2022.
Kathy was also principal oboe with Opera2005 in Cork, Ireland. Kathy has also recorded 12 CDs as principal oboe with the Toronto Chamber Orchestra under Kevin Mallon and Nicolas McGegan. In 2012 she founded the West Side Chamber Orchestra, dedicated to performance on modern instruments of music of the Enlightenment. They released a CD of Harpsichord Concertos with Christopher Lewis on the Naxos Label in 2013. Her arrangements and improvisations on pop, jazz, folk and world music can be heard on the CDs Unraveled and Palette with her oboe trio Threeds.
Kathy studied at the New England Conservatory, at Rutgers University with Jonathan Blumenfeld and Matt Sullivan, at the Royal Conservatory in the Netherlands with Bart Schneemann. In Holland she performed regularly with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Netherlands Wind Ensemble, the the Calefax Reed Quintet, the Netherlands Balletorkest, and many others. She has also worked with the Mingus Epitaph, jazz bassoonist Michael Rabinowitz, and Bjork. A lover of jazz, Kathy studied jazz improvisation with Tim Price during the pandemic of 2020. “No praise is sufficient for the oboe playing of Kathy Halvorson” – Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe.
An Improvising Oboist….
A flair for improvisation has singled Kathy out as one of a handful of oboists worldwide with a truly unique voice. Kathy has worked with the Mingus Epitaph, George Russell Big Band, Ken Schaphorst Big Band, Jazz Composers Alliance, Bjork, Celtic Music artist Aine Minogue, jazz bassoonist Michael Rabinowitz, Martha Redbone, Andra Borlo and most recently with John Kruth. With her oboe trio, Threeds, Kathy has arranged music of The Doors, Stevie Wonder, Charles Mingus, and has performed arrangements of Radiohead, David Bowie, and Journey, to name a few. Kathy has appeared as a soloist with the Stravinsky Ensemble in Amsterdam, Boston’s Indian Hill Symphony Orchestra, and with Alea III in Athens and Boston
“No praise is sufficient for the oboe playing of Kathy Halvorson”
Richard Dyer, Boston Globe