Keve WIlson, Oboe

Fast Facts

  • Oboist, Company on Broadway, American Modern Ensemble, Mostly Modern Festival.

  • Winner, Concert Artists Guild and solo oboist with Absolute Ensemble.

  • Teaching Artist, Bridge Arts Ensemble, 92Y and Mancini Institute.

Photo: Jim Graham

Hailed by the New York Times for her “magnificently sweet tone,” oboist Keve Wilson would skip music theory and history as a kid to practice Irish jigs and reels instead. She is currently on Broadway as oboist for the celebrated revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Company, having wrapped up the Broadway production of Carousel with Renée Fleming as well as the 2014 Tony Winner A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. A past winner of Concert Artists Guild and solo oboist with the Grammy nominated Absolute Ensemble, she has performed in Amsterdam, Argentina, Austria, Dubai, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Mexico, Panama, New Zealand, Sicily, and South Korea. A two-time recipient of the Clifford-Levy Creativity Grant, Keve traveled to Makuleke Village in South Africa where she participated in learning and teaching folk songs of the region. She plays oboe for Encores! at City Center and recently recorded with Bruce Springsteen on his upcoming 2022 album, Letter to You.

Keve has performed at numerous music festivals including Newport Jazz Festival with Miguel Zenon, New Zealand Music Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, Bremen Music Fest, Mostly Mozart Festival in San Luis Obispo, Swannanoa Chamber Music, The Tanglewood Music Center, Juneau Jazz and Classics and many others. She has performed as principal oboist with many ensembles, including American Sinfonietta, Alarm Will Sound, Absolute Ensemble, American Modern Ensemble, National Sawdust Ensemble, On-Site Opera, Pacific Symphony Orchestra, and San Diego Symphony. She premiered After Hearing Bach by Peter Schickele for oboe and string quartet while living in Los Angeles. Keve and her childhood best friend, violinist Rachel Handman, spent the pandemic performing for vaccination patients at The Javits Center in NYC, as well as at cabaret venues such as Feinstein's/54 Below.

A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Keve studied oboe with Richard Killmer, dance with Elizabeth Clark and piano with Judith Handman. She lives in her favorite city, New York, with her husband Kerry Farrell and dog Bugsy.