For more than a decade, Symphony Program Director Ricardo Castañeda and assistant Erin Horan have also led the oboe instruction at Birch Creek.
Ricardo Castañeda and Erin Horan
Ricardo Castañeda stays sufficiently busy while on the Birch Creek campus. Not only is he the oboe instructor, he is also the Symphony Program Director, handling many administrative aspects of the session behind the scenes. This is Mr. Castañeda’s 14th year at Birch Creek and his 11th as Program Director.
As a young boy, Mr. Castañeda’s parents encouraged him to enroll in an after-school activity, and he chose music. When given the chance to select any instrument to study, he chose the oboe. He was age 7 at the time.
Recruited by Ray Still (oboist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for many years) to study with him at Northwestern University, Castañeda came to the US and completed undergraduate and graduate degrees in oboe performance. He has remained in the Chicago area and is the principal oboist with the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Lake Forest Symphony, the Joffrey Ballet Orchestra, and is professor of oboe at Northern Illinois University.
Pictured with Castañeda is Erin Horan who serves as his assistant both in the oboe section and with administrative duties. Ms. Horan was a Birch Creek student in 1999 and returned the following year as Castañeda’s teaching assistant. She also completed an oboe performance degree under Castañeda at Northern Illinois University. In her 13th year at Birch Creek, she is now an Associate Faculty member. During the other 50 weeks of the year, Ms. Horan is Education Director with the Mobile Symphony Orchestra, Mobile, Ala.
Birch Creek Music Performance Center, Door County’s unique concert venue, is located at 3821 Cty Hwy E, Egg Harbor. All concerts begin at 8 pm with pre-concert music beginning at 7:30 pm. The Pops concert on Saturday, July 2 has a special concert time of 6:30 pm. Tickets are $29 for adults, $10 for young adults age 12-20 and college students, and $6 for children 11 and under. For complete information or to reserve tickets, call 920.868.3763. Also check www.birchcreek.org for additional information.
