Kirsten Haddox is an oboist and arts marketing professional excited to join the San Gabriel Valley Symphony. She has been playing oboe since age nine and realized she wanted to pursue the classical industry as a full-time career after joining her youth orchestra in high school. There, she studied with Pittsburgh Symphony musicians Scott Bell and Jim Rodgers. Kirsten earned her Bachelor of Music in Oboe Performance and Arts Entrepreneurship from Penn State (2022) and her MBA in Music Industry from the University of North Texas (2024). At UNT, she studied oboe alongside her business degree with Dr. Jung Choi while honing her passion for the business side of music.

In August 2024, Kirsten became Social Media Manager for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, where she’s grown their organic digital reach to 13 million users and 37 thousand new followers—and by night, she’s a content creator with over 200,000 followers (@kirstenoboe), sharing music career advice, humor content, and oboe covers.

When she’s not playing or posting (which is almost never)—Kirsten loves hiking, gaming, interior design, and caring for her many houseplants. She’s thrilled to make music with the SGV Symphony this season!

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