Biography
Performer/Educator
Erin Brophey shares the joy of music-making with audiences across Canada, most notably in her current position as Principal Oboe of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra. Erin is profoundly grateful to make music and hopes that your live experience of music gives you chills and thrills. The waves of shared emotion are why she makes music.
Previously, Erin held the position of section oboe and English horn with the Thunder Bay Symphony
Orchestra for eight seasons. Erin takes such pleasure in performing with cherished colleagues in many Canadian orchestras, including the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, the Regina Symphony Orchestra, the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, the Charlottetown Festival Orchestra, and the Elora Festival Orchestra.
In 2000, Erin earned her Honours Bachelor of Music from Wilfrid Laurier University where she studied with James Mason. She completed her Master of Music degree at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, under the tutelage of Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida in 2002.
Erin is also grateful to have honed her craft at many summer festivals nation-wide, including Festival of the Sound, Westben Festival, Elora Festival, Stratford Music Festival, Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, National Youth Orchestra of Canada, l’Orchestre de la francophonie, and the National Academy Orchestra. Recently, Erin blissfully performed at the Ritornello Chamber Music Festival with the Gryphon Trio.
An avid and joyful educator, Erin is a sessional lecturer at the University of Saskatchewan and is the woodwind coach for the Saskatoon Youth Orchestra. In Saskatoon, Erin co-directs a community double reed band called Squawk, is active in new-music programming, and also teaches a private oboe studio. Erin is also on faculty at Interprovincial Music Camp in Parry Sound, Ontario.
Erin Brophey
Oboe and English horn
As a professional oboist, I've been performing across Canada since 2000.
With 23 years of teaching experience, I specialize in teaching the oboe and the English horn.
Teaching Philosophy
Learning the oboe can and should be fun.
I use music instruction to help a student understand how they specifically learn (this can have a life-long impact, no matter the subject).
The discipline of DAILY (and consistent) practice leads to rewarding results.
I take great joy in adapting my teaching methods to suit the student’s goals.
Each person learns a little differently and at their own rate, I really enjoy watching a unique brain learn. I find it fascinating.
I learn so much from teaching students.
Each student is unique
Making music with other people is a great joy that I love to share with my students.
I take great pride in teaching beginners through very advanced students. I feel that it gives me a broad perspective on the path of learning the oboe.
As a teacher, I want my students to succeed at what they choose to do. For some students, this means helping them apply what they have learned in oboe lessons to their chosen fields. For other students, it means helping them navigate the world of classical music.
I have prepared my students to win national competitions and to become professional oboe players. Some of my former students have gone on to study dental surgery, landscape design, mathematics, creative writing, medicine, law, computer engineering, education, drama and fine arts. I’m so proud of everything my students accomplish.
My sincere hope is that they take the joy of creativity and working well with others into their adult lives.
TESTIMONIALS
Andrea Regier
Erin's passion for the oboe, her musical expertise, and her enthusiasm shine through in her teaching. My daughter began learning the oboe this year at school. Private lessons with Erin did so much to advance my daughter's interest in the oboe and to increase her love of music. We will definitely continue learning with Erin!