Richard Kanter was born in Chicago in 1935. He began his oboe

Oboe

The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...

-playing career at the age of 14 in 1949, as a student of Robert Mayer, English horn player of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...

. After four years, Mr. Kanter was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music

Curtis Institute of Music

The Curtis Institute of Music is a conservatory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that offers courses of study leading to a performance Diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in Opera, and Professional Studies Certificate in Opera. According to statistics compiled by U.S...

, where he studied with Marcel Tabuteau

Marcel Tabuteau

Marcel Tabuteau was a French oboist who is generally considered the founder of the American school of oboe playing.-Life:...

 and John de Lancie

John de Lancie (oboist)

For his son, the actor, please see John de LancieJohn de Lancie was an American musician who served as the principal oboist of the Philadelphia Orchestra for many years.-Career:...

. Upon graduating from Curtis, Mr. Kanter joined the U.S. Navy Band for four years. During those years he traveled to every state in the continental United States.

After leaving the Navy Band in 1961, Mr. Kanter was appointed second oboe of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO). During his years with the CSO, he performed under Fritz Reiner

Fritz Reiner

Frederick Martin “Fritz” Reiner was a prominent conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century.-Biography:...

, Jean Martinon

Jean Martinon

Jean Martinon was a French conductor and composer.-Biography:Martinon was born in Lyon, where he began his education, going on to the Conservatoire de Paris to study under Albert Roussel for composition, under Charles Munch and Roger Désormière for conducting, under Vincent d'Indy for harmony,...

, Georg Solti

Georg Solti

Sir Georg Solti, KBE, was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor. He was a major classical recording artist, holding the record for having received the most Grammy Awards, having personally won 31 as a conductor, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to his...

, and Daniel Barenboim

Daniel Barenboim

Daniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....

, as well as hundreds of guest conductors. Chicago Symphony tours took Mr. Kanter to many parts of the world, including Europe, Britain, the Soviet Union, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Japan, and Hong Kong. He retired from the CSO in 2002, after a career of 41 years. He is now the oboe and English horn coach with the Asian Youth Orchestra

Asian Youth Orchestra

The Asian Youth Orchestra was founded by Yehudi Menuhin & Richard Pontzious. Their inaugural concerts were conducted in August 1990 by Yehudi Menuhin. Sergiu Comissiona is their conductor laureate and Richard Pontzious, artistic director and conductor...

, based in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

.

External links

• Asian Youth Orchestra