Dwight Parry

Dwight Parry is the principal oboist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Professor of Oboe at Bowling Green State University.  As a dedicated pedagogue with over two decades of experience, he remains dedicated to lifelong learning and collaboration.  Guest appearances include the New World Symphony and universities such as UM, IU, CCM, CIM, SFCM, USC, and Juilliard.  His students have positions with the Ft. Wayne Philharmonic, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Dayton Philharmonic, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, the Chattanooga Symphony and the Topeka Symphony.  One of his great joys is performing with his former students.  He has had this privilege with the Bach Ensemble of St. Thomas, the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra and the Cincinnati Symphony.  

Mr. Parry is a versatile and passionate soloist, an avid chamber musician and an advocate for new music. A background in jazz led Mr. Parry to pursue a career that spans from concert halls to the streets of New Orleans, where he has improvised with Dixie bands. In May 2022, Mr. Parry premiered an oboe concerto, Les Belles Heures, by Guillaume Connesson, which was written for him and co-commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.  He was then featured in the same piece with the Springfield (MO) Symphony.  Mr. Parry subsequently gave the US premiere of Carl Vine's Oboe Concerto with the Ohio Valley Symphony.

In recent seasons, he performed the Martinů Oboe Concerto with the CCM Chamber Orchestra and the Strauss Oboe Concerto with the Prague Summer Nights Orchestra in the Czech Republic.  He has also been a soloist with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in Bach's Brandenburg Concertos 1&2. After hearing his performance of the Vaughan-Williams Oboe Concerto in Mexico City, he was invited by Hansjorg Schellenberger to be a judge for the 2018 and 2023 Sony International Oboe Competitions in Tokyo.  In May, 2025, he performed the Strauss Oboe Concerto with the Jakarta Symphony Orchestra.  Then in July, 2025, he gave the African premiere of Connesson’s Les Belles Heures with the Stellenbosch Festival Orchestra in South Africa.

Mr. Parry was formerly principal oboist of the San Diego Symphony and a Fellow with the New World Symphony. He has appeared as guest principal oboist with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, LAPhil, Minnesota Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Guangzhou Symphony, Deutsche Symphonie of Berlin and Korean Broadcasting Symphony.

Originally from Southern California, he found his passion for music early on through piano, voice, and saxophone.  In high school, Mr. Parry took up the oboe and decided to make a life in music.  He went on to study at the Cleveland Institute of Music with John Mack and at the University of Southern California with Allan Vogel and David Weiss, a gentleman who also taught him to surf!

During the summer, he is in residence at Interlochen Arts Camp, Grand Teton Music Festival, Mainly Mozart Festival and Lakes Area Music Festival. In those rare moments when he is without an oboe in hand, he can be found attending concerts, plays, and other community events. He spends the rest of his time hiking, reading, volunteering, tossing frisbees, and creating curiosities in the kitchen.

Mr. Parry is a Lorée artist.