Oboe and English Horn
Biography
A versatile performer in solo, chamber, and orchestral music, Anne Pinkerton is an oboist originally from the Chicago area.
Especially interested in new music, she has performed with One Found Sound (San Francisco), been a fellow at the Bang On A Can Festival (North Adams, MA) and attended the Blackhouse Collective Workshop (Los Angeles). With a background in dance, she enjoys curating and performing interdisciplinary works and collaborating with other artists. She has worked with Root River Photography, Ballet Oberlin, Rice Dance Theatre, and other visual artists and dancers.
Anne is a founding member and oboist in Reeds and Keys, an oboe and organ duo where she performs with her partner, organist Matthew Dion. The duo performs nationwide the unique and beautiful repertoire written for oboe/English horn and organ.
Anne is also passionate about community impact. In Los Angeles, she was involved in organizations including Urban Voices Project and Street Symphony, both of which foster community and use music to connect with and uplift those affected by homelessness. Recently she received the Richter Fund grant at Rice for community outreach projects. As a DACAMERA Young Artist, she performs regular free chamber music concerts around Houston and leads Music Encounters, classroom lessons integrating music at elementary schools. This year through DACAMERA, she is leading events at The Women's Home in Houston.
As a private oboe teacher, Anne maintains a teaching studio among several schools ranging from beginner to high school level in the greater Houston area. Her students have placed in Texas Region Band and received the highest rating at Texas Solo and Ensemble Contest. Anne previously received a Teaching Fellows Certificate from the Colburn School, working with students through the Colburn Community JumpStart program. Anne is passionate about bringing joy to students through music and using a range of tools that fit each student’s unique needs.
As an orchestral oboist, Anne has played with the Houston Ballet Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic, Sacramento Philharmonic, and Opera in the Heights. Festival appearances include Music Academy of the West, Sarasota Music Festival, and the Decoda Chamber Music Festival.
As a soloist, Anne placed as a finalist in the Musician's Club of Women Instrumental Competition in 2022 (Senior Nerenberg Division) and winner of Birch Creek's Barton Concerto Competition in 2018. Most recently, Anne was the 2024 wind division winner of the concerto competition at Rice University, performing Marco Aurelio Yano's Oboe Concerto.
Anne currently attends Rice University, where she studies with Robert Atherholt. She graduated with her Master of Music in Oboe Performance from Colburn Conservatory, where she studied with Eugene Izotov. She received her bachelor of music degree in Oboe Performance and a Minor in Music History at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Robert Walters.
In her spare time, she loves to read, dance, run, cook vegan food, talk about faith, and is an avid fan of hedgehogs.