Hi, my name is Brian Lyons and I am an historical oboist living in South Holland, The Netherlands. I earned my Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Oboe Performance from The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in the United States, and most recently a Master of Early Music in Early Oboe from the Royal Conservatory The Hague as a student of Frank de Bruine. In my career I have functioned as an orchestral and chamber musician, recitalist, soloist, teacher, or clinician, delivering performances in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America.
During my Bachelor degree program in the US, I was a performing participant in masterclasses for American oboe luminaries Robert Bloom, John Mack, Joseph Robinson, John Ferillo, and Allen Vogel, among others. My primary teachers for my Bachelor of Music degree at The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) were Sara Lambert Bloom and Mark Ostoich. I studied for my Master of Music degree with Humbert Lucarelli at the University of Hartford Hartt School of Music and Dance. Upon completion of that degree I fulfilled a few one-year contracts as Acting Principal Oboe, 2nd Oboe, or 2nd Oboe/English horn with regional orchestras in Georgia. In 2017 I returned to school to earn my Doctor of Musical Arts degree from CCM where I quite happy to study again with Mark Ostoich.
For much of my career as a modern oboist I freelanced with orchestras and chamber groups up and down the US eastern seaboard from Maine to South Georgia, and as far west as New Orleans, Louisiana until 2016, when I was officially appointed to the Principal Oboe chair with the Augusta Symphony, a part-time regional orchestra in eastern Georgia. In 2019, I took the position as Instructor of Oboe and Bassoon at the Fred and Dinah Gretsch School of Music at Georgia Southern University, a position I held until making my final decision to stay in Holland.
I first came to The Netherlands to study as a national winner of the 2019 Presser Foundation Graduate Music Award which fully funded an independent study course I designed and ultimately executed. For the course I spent the first week working alongside historical oboist and instrument maker Paul van der Linden to reproduce an oboe first made circa 1730 by Giovanni Maria Anciuti, an Italian instrument maker working out of Milan. The second week I studied the Baroque oboe every other day with Frank de Bruine and the third week I attended cultural events and places in Amsterdam. From that experience I knew that I had to get back to study more.
Summer of 2020, during the pandemic, I attended two online festivals, Amherst Early Music Festival and the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute, where I met my American Baroque oboe teacher Margaret Owens. I began studying with Meg online to prepare for my audition at the conservatory in The Hague and, on the oboe that I had made with Paul.
In July 2021 I moved to The Hague to attend the Royal Conservatory The Hague to earn the Artist Certificate in Baroque oboe and use the opportunity to draw on my experience here and write the final document for my doctoral degree in the US. The following Spring I played my first Passion season with such groups as Luthers Bach Ensemble, Ad Mosam, and Dutch Baroque. By the end of summer I had completed the Artist Certificate program at the conservatory here in Holland as well as my Doctor of Musical Arts degree in the US. But I didn’t feel quite finished here. My playing had not yet developed to where I was satisfied (but does it ever?). I made the decision to continue my studies in Holland and earn a Master of Music degree. So I resigned from my principal orchestral position and my university position to remain here and try my hand at becoming an historical oboist.
My time during the Master program was quite eventful. I was awarded the Stichting De Zaaier Best Presentation Research Grant to help facilitate my research. My experimental group HIPs: Historically Inclusive Performances of Holland was invited to perform at the 2023 Festival Klassiek Scheveningen, NL. Finally in June of 2024, seven years after beginning my doctoral coursework in the US, I completed the Master of Music Early Music program from the conservatory here in The Hague.
I currently live in The Hague with my two Siberian cat roommates Fenia and Lilia. I enjoy cooking, learning Dutch, and making reeds. This season I can be heard performing with Florilegium Musicum, the Marghareta Consort, Luthers Bach Ensemble, Holland Baroque, and the Northern Consort among others.
