Eric Ohlsson, Principal Oboe

Dr. Eric Ohlsson enjoys a significant musical career that is varied and far reaching in scope. He is dedicated to both performing and teaching on a national and international scale. His primary position is as the Charles O. DeLaney Professor of Oboe in the College of Music at Florida State University, a post he has held since 1986.Ohlsson performs regularly as principal oboist of the Tallahassee Symphony, the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra, and in the summer months, with the Brevard Music Center Orchestra, where he has been a member of the Artist Faculty since 1994.

He was formerly principal oboe of the Naples Philharmonic (1986-96), the Columbus Symphony (1975-80), the Augusta Symphony (1982-86), and the South Carolina Philharmonic (1980-86). Additionally, he has played in the same capacity as a guest performer with groups such as the Charlotte Symphony, the Florida Orchestra, and the Jacksonville Symphony.He has many engagements to his credit as a recitalist and chamber musician the US, Canada, Europe, and South America, and has given solo and chamber recitals at venues such as Weill Recital Hall in New York City, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, the Brevard Music Festival in North Carolina, with the City Music Chamber Orchestra in Cleveland, at the Casa Rui Barbosa in Rio, at the Philharmonic Center for the Arts in Naples, Florida, and at the Grand Castle of Vianden in Luxembourg, to name a few. He has performed at Conferences of the International Double Reed Society on ten separate occasions.

Ohlsson has been a featured soloist with the Naples Philharmonic, the Tallahassee Symphony, the Augusta Symphony, the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, City Music Cleveland, the Brevard Music Center Festival Orchestra and Brevard Sinfonia, the South Carolina Philharmonic, the South Carolina Chamber Orchestra, the Florida State Chamber Orchestra, and the University Orchestras of Florida State University and The Ohio State University. His repertoire includes the concertos of Haydn, Mozart, Strauss, Francaix, Martinu, Vaughan-Williams, and Zwilich.

As a pedagogue, Ohlsson has taught hundreds of young oboists at FSU, Brevard Music Festival, and at the Vianden International Music Festival. Many of these students now hold important positions as university professors, symphonic performers, and educators across the country. He has also taught at the University of South Carolina, the South Carolina Governors School of the Arts, Otterbein College, and Denison University.His degrees are from The Ohio State University (DMA and MM) and James Madison University (BME). His most influential teachers are John Mack, William Baker, James Caldwell, Ben Wright and Travis Cox.