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Gabrielle Castriotta

educator

About this Artist

I started playing violin at the age of 5, when my great-uncle gave me a violin. Since then I have played clarinet, mandolin, cello, viola, and my primary instruments, oboe and English horn. My parents love classical music, and they passed that love on to me. I feel fortunate to have been exposed to classical music at a young age, and since I was a teenager, I have felt compelled to make sure that other people were also given the opportunity to fall in love with classical music as I did.

In college at Northwestern University, I taught music classes at a Chicago elementary school and helped teach a recorder class. After receiving degrees in Oboe Performance and Comparative Literature from Northwestern, I continued on to do my Masters in Oboe Performance at the University of Southern California, where I also continued my outreach work. Through the Thornton School of Music Outreach Program, I taught clarinet sectionals and introduced elementary schoolchildren to the oboe.

Currently, I teach Middle School Wind Ensemble at Crossroads School in Santa Monica, where I also coordinate the string mentorship program between Crossroads Chamber Orchestra and St. Anne’s School. As an oboist, I have been a member of the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra and the American Youth Symphony, and I work as a freelance oboist in Los Angeles. I have also worked as an oboe coach at the Idyllwild Arts Academy, and I teach private oboe lessons.

As an LA Philharmonic Teaching Artist, I am happy to collaborate in these areas:

Oboe (and English horn) playing, teaching, sectionals, and reedmaking

Woodwind sectionals

Chamber Music

Music Theory

Music History

Music Appreciation

Beginning strings

I love music and I enjoy sharing both my love and expertise with others.