Nathan Hughes
Principal Oboe, Grace B. Dayton Chair
Before becoming the Minnesota Orchestra’s principal oboe during the 2022-23 season, Nathan Hughes was the principal oboe of the Metropolitan Opera. He previously served as principal oboe of the Seattle Symphony and 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. He is a member of the faculty at the Juilliard School.
An avid chamber musician, Hughes has performed with the Philadelphia, La Jolla, Seattle and Brooklyn Chamber Music Societies, as well as at ChamberFest Cleveland and Chamber Music Pittsburgh. In addition, he has made appearances at the festivals of Aspen, Bridgehampton, Lucerne, Marlboro, Pacific, Salzburg, Santa Fe, Sarasota, Spoleto and Tanglewood. He has received critical acclaim for his performances as soloist with the MET Chamber Ensemble at Carnegie Hall, Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Seattle Symphony, La Jolla SummerFest Chamber Orchestra and Verbier Festival Orchestra.
Hughes is a dedicated teacher, and his students have earned significant positions in numerous major symphony orchestras throughout the country. He has lectured and presented masterclasses at institutions around the world including at the New World Symphony, Cleveland Institute, Eastman School of Music, Oberlin Conservatory and Indiana University, as well as at the Munich Hochschule in Germany, National University in Korea, Royal Conservatory in Canada and Pacific Music Festival in Japan. He regularly works with young musicians in the summer at the Marlboro Festival in Vermont and at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland.