JOHN DE LANCIE, principal oboist of the Philadelphia Orchestra since 1954 has been named director of the Curtis Institute of Music. He will assume his new duties in September. Mr. de Lancie is the first graduate of the 52-year-old Curtis Institute to become its director; he succeeds Rudolf Serkin. Mr. de Lancie came to Curtis in 1936 to study with Marcel Tabuteau; he became associate solo oboe of the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1946 and became principal upon the retirement of his former teacher. He began teaching at Curtis the same year; he is national president of the school's alumni association and is also a member of the Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet. Eugene Ormandy expressed "considerable regret at the news of Mr. de Lancie's departure" and stated that as a "prime contributor to the Philadelphia sound, he will be sorely missed." His successor is RICHARD WOODHAMS, who at 27 has already spent eight years as first oboist of the St. Louis Symphony. Mr. Woodhams, a California native, is a former pupil of Mr. de Lancie.
HAROLD GOMBERG is retiring from the New York Philharmonic after 34 seasons as its principal oboist. Also a Curtis graduate where he was a pupil of Marcel Tabuteau Mr. Gomberg held principal positions in St. Louis, Toronto and Washington before coming to the Philharmonic. He also teaches at the Juilliard School. At this writing his successor in the Philharmonic has not been named.
JOHN HOLMES retires from the Boston Symphony Orchestra after more than thirty seasons. ALFRED GENOVESE leaves the Metropolitan Opera to join the Boston Symphony.
ROGER COLE is first oboist of the Vancouver Symphony.
MARILYN ZUPNIK is first oboist of the London (Ontario) Symphony; she is also a member of the faculty of Western Ontario University.
PHILIP SARGEANT has joined the faculty of West Virginia University at Morgantown.
RICHARD WOODHAMS, MARION GIBSON, and PHILIP WEST will teach the oboe at the 1977 Aspen Festival. Mr. Woodhams will perform the Strauss Concerto and Mr. West will play the Sibelius legend The Swan of Tuonela in the course of the season.
WILLIAM CRISS will again teach at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California.
BRUCE HAYNES and JAMES CALDWELL will teach the baroque oboe at the Baroque Performance Institute at the Oberlin Conservatory. The works of J. S. Bach will be emphasized at this summer's institute.
The second annual JOHN MACK Oboe Camp will be held at Little Switzerland in North Carolina the week of May 29 through June 3; the distinguished first oboist of the Cleveland Orchestra will again give concentrated attention to virtually every aspect of the oboe player's art. JOSEPH ROBINSON is the organizer of this unique event.
Contributing members of the IDRS for 1977 include: Fox Products, the Selmer Corporation, Etablissements de Gourdon, Glotin of Ezanville, Robert D. Gilbert of Los Angeles, and Edmund Nielsen of Chicago. They have the sincere appreciation of the entire membership.
BRUCE WEINSTEIN has joined the Grand Rapids Symphony.
GEORGE RIORDAN is a member of the faculty of the University of Montana at Missoula.
BARBARA HERR has joined the St. Louis Symphony
PAM PECHA WOODS has become a member of the Baltimore Symphony, where JAMES OSTRYNIEC has moved to the post of associate principal oboe.
MICHAEL ROSENBERG is first oboist of the Oregon Symphony.
RONALD ROSEMAN has joined the faculty of Yale University in New Haven.
RICHARD RATH has been appointed administrative assistant to the director of the School of Fine Arts in Willoughby, Ohio.
JAN EBERLE is first oboist of the Gulf Coast Symphony in Tampa- she is also a member of the faculty of the University of South Florida.