Oboist Eugene Izotov Joins Faculty of San Francisco Conservatory of Music
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) today announces the appointment of oboist Eugene Izotov to its faculty. Currently principal oboe at the San Francisco Symphony, Izotov has garnered critical acclaim for his interpretations of symphonic and solo repertoire. His appointment comes amid several recent additions to SFCM’s faculty, including vocalists Deborah Voigt and Susanne Mentzer, as well as conductor Eric Dudley.
“We are thrilled to welcome Eugene Izotov to our faculty. As a world-class oboist and teacher, his expertise will be a great asset to our students and to the whole school,” says SFCM Provost and Dean Kate Sheeran. “Eugene will join twenty-five of his San Francisco Symphony colleagues who are already on the SFCM faculty, including all of the Symphony’s principal wind and brass players.”
“I am delighted to join the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music,” says Izotov. “It is a privilege to continue the great tradition of the American School of oboe playing in one of the nation’s most visible music institutions that beautifully reflects the remarkable culture and forward-thinking identity of San Francisco.”
Called “a player of dazzling technical ability and musical inventiveness” by the San Francisco Chronicle, Izotov began his tenure as principal oboe at the San Francisco Symphony in 2015. He had previously served as associate principal from 1996 to 2003. Izotov has also held appointments with the Chicago Symphony (principal oboe), appointed by Daniel Barenboim, and the Metropolitan Opera (principal oboe), appointed by James Levine, as well as the Boston Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic (guest principal oboe).
Izotov is the first Russian-born musician to hold a principal wind position in any major American symphony orchestra. His numerous awards include top prizes at solo competitions in Saint Petersburg (1991), Moscow (1990), New York (1995), and at the Fernand Gillet International Competition (2001). Izotov has appeared more than fifty times as soloist with the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, MET Chamber Ensemble, and Pacific Festival Orchestra, collaborating with luminaries such as Bernard Haitink, James Levine, Nicholas McGegan, and Riccardo Muti. In addition to his capacities as a faculty member at SFCM, Izotov also teaches at Music Academy of the West and the Pacific Music Festival (Japan). He has previously served on the faculty of The Juilliard School and DePaul University. He regularly presents master classes at Aspen, Oberlin, Interlochen, Tanglewood, the New World Symphony, Mannes, the Manhattan School of Music, University of Michigan, McGill University, Verbier, and Domaine Forget.
Born in Moscow, Russia, Izotov studied at the Gnesin School of Music with Ivan Pushechnikov and Sergey Velikanov, and at Boston University’s School of Fine Arts with Ralph Gomberg.
# # #
About the San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Founded in 1917, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music is the oldest conservatory in the American West and has earned an international reputation for producing musicians of the highest caliber. Its faculty includes nearly 30 members of the San Francisco Symphony as well as Grammy and Latin Grammy Award-winning artists in the fields of orchestral and chamber performance and classical guitar. The Conservatory offers its 400-plus collegiate students fully accredited bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in composition and instrumental and vocal performance. SFCM was the first institution of its kind to offer world-class graduate degree programs in chamber music and classical guitar. Its Pre-College Division provides exceptionally high standards of musical excellence and personal attention to more than 200 younger students. SFCM faculty and students give nearly 500 public performances each year, most of which are offered to the public at no charge. Its community outreach programs serve over 1,600 school children and over 6,000 members of the wider community. Notable alumni include violinists Yehudi Menuhin and Isaac Stern, conductor and pianist Jeffrey Kahane, soprano Elza van den Heever, Blue Bottle Coffee founder James Freeman and Ronald Losby, President, Steinway & Sons – Americas, among others. The Conservatory’s Civic Center facility is an architectural and acoustical masterwork, and the Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall was lauded by the New York Times as the “most enticing classical-music setting” in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information, visit sfcm.edu
