Dr. Kathryn Pisaro is busy as both an oboist and a music historian. She received a Certificate in Performance from the California Institute of the Arts, a Ph.D. and Master of Music degree in music history from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Music degree in oboe performance from DePaul University.
Her recent performance of Bach's Concerto for Oboe and Violin was described as a "many-spendored serenade to joy" in the Santa Barbara Daily Sound. She has performed in the Los Angeles area with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Andrea Bocelli, the Fresno Philharmonic and on several recording sessions. In Chicago, she worked with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Ravinia Festival Orchestra, was principal oboe in the Illinois Philharmonic orchestra for ten years and played oboe and English horn in over fifteen Broadway touring productions, including Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Ragtime, Beauty and the Beast, South Pacific, Showboat and Cabaret.
As a musicologist, she has presented papers on music history at national and international conferences. Her musicological writings can be found in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition, the International Double Reed Society Journal and Musicworks. She taught at Depaul University in Chicago, IL, Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, Judson College in Elgin, IL and at Ventura College in Ventura, CA. She is currently teaching oboe and piano at Keyboard Galleria in Saugus, CA and directing the Neinte Chamber Music Ensemble.