Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida

Associate Teaching Professor of Oboe

Bio

Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida was appointed by Lorin Maazel as principal oboe of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 1991. For two years prior, she was associate principal oboe of the Philadelphia Orchestra under Riccardo Muti.

DeAlmeida received the Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Michigan, studying with Arno Mariotti, and the Master of Music degree from Temple University, as a student of Richard Woodhams. Other musicians whose wisdom she is forever grateful to include oboists Sarah Young, Robert Sorton, Elaine Douvas, Louis Rosenblatt, and John Mack.

In November 2002, DeAlmeida’s first solo/chamber CD was released on the Boston Records label. Classic Discoveries for Oboe was hailed by American Record Guide as “a masterly recording... Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida is simply one of the finest exponents of the instrument anywhere.” Her second solo CD, entitled Mist Over the Lake on the Crystal Record label, was released in 2006 to rave reviews: “Ms. DeAlmeida is hands down one of the best players in the world...” In 2015 her third CD Silver and Gold was released on the Crystal Records label. Gramophone magazine called her “a poetic artist” and Fanfare magazine wrote “she is a soloist of immense technique and considerable charm...” DeAlmeida can also be heard on Crystal Records’ recording of Sir Andre Previn’s Sonata for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano with Sir Andre Previn, as well as all the Pittsburgh Symphony recordings since 1991 under Lorin Maazel, Mariss Jansons, Marek Janowski and Manfred Honeck. In 2009, DeAlmeida travelled to Berlin to perform and record the German Requiem of Brahms with Marek Janowski and the Radio Orchestra of Berlin (RSB) for the Pentatone label.

DeAlmeida has been featured as soloist with the PSO in concertos by Bach, Balada, Fletcher, Francaix, Haydn, Mozart, Richman, Strauss, and Vaughan Williams. She performed these concertos with the PSO conducted by Andres Cardenes, Sir Andrew Davis, Gunther Herbig, Manfred Honeck, Lorin Maazel, Sir Andre Previn, Lucas Richman, Alessandro Siciliani, Leonard Slatkin, Jeanette Sorrell, Yoav Talmi, and Pinchas Zukerman. The concertos by Balada, Richman, and Fletcher were commissioned for DeAlmeida by the PSO, in 1992, 2006, and 2015. The Balada was recorded for New World Records with the PSO, Lorin Maazel conducting. The Richman concerto was recorded for Albany Records with the PSO, Lucas Richman conducting. DeAlmeida has performed Bach’s Concerto for Violin and Oboe with violinists Vladimir Spivakov, Andres Cardenes, Pinchas Zukerman, and Noah Bendix-Balgley. DeAlmeida has also appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Haddonfield Symphony, the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, the Knoxville Symphony, the U.S. Army Orchestra, and the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic.

DeAlmeida is an avid chamber musician and enjoys working with contemporary composers. In 2015, she commissioned and recorded a piece for oboe, horn, cello, and piano by Michael Moricz, entitled “Three Consequences for Four Players”. In 2019 she championed and performed new chamber works by composers Marilyn Taft Thomas and Nancy Galbraith. In 2020 DeAlmeida premiered her commission for oboe, horn, and piano by Chris Massa entitled” Scenes from Lake Chautauqua”. In May 2023, she and her husband, horn player William Caballero, commissioned and performed the “Three Rivers Trio” for oboe, horn, and piano by Eric Ewazen.

From 2002-2020 DeAlmeida performed and taught as a faculty member of the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. Several of her performances there have been featured on NPR’s “Performance Today.” DeAlmeida has also performed at the Strings Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, the La Jolla Festival, the Marlboro Music Festival as well as several ‘Music from Marlboro’ tours, and Chamberfest Cleveland.

Teaching has always been a rewarding part of DeAlmeida’s artistic life. She has been associate teaching professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Music since 2012, and a faculty member there since 1991. She has held teaching positions at Temple University in Philadelphia and Trenton State College in New Jersey, and has taught at the National Orchestral Institute at the University of Maryland as well as the New World Symphony. She has given masterclasses at universities in the United States and abroad including the Manhattan School of Music, the University of Tennessee, Eastern Michigan University, the University of South Carolina, and the Seoul Conservatory, the University of Georgia, U.C.L.A., Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute, and The Curtis Institute.

In 2003, DeAlmeida was featured on national television on the CBS “Early Show” in a story relating to the oboe and its remarkable health benefits for asthma sufferers, which led to her work as an ambassador for the American Respiratory Alliance in Pittsburgh.

DeAlmeida proudly plays on F. Loree oboes from Paris, France.