Biography

Elizabeth Starr Masoudnia, solo English hornist of The Philadelphia Orchestra since 1995, has toured the globe with the Orchestra to wide critical acclaim with many of the world's finest conductors. She has premiered several solo English horn pieces written expressly for her, including concertos by Behzad Ranjbaran and Nicholas Maw, and David Ludwig's Piccola musica notturna for English horn, harp and string quintet.

A native of Philadelphia, Masoudnia graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied oboe with John de Lancie, former principal oboe of The Philadelphia Orchestra and former president of Curtis. Prior to that, she studied oboe for six years with the acclaimed oboist and English hornist Louis Rosenblatt, her predecessor in The Philadelphia Orchestra.

Masoudnia was a participant in the Marlboro Music Festival and played oboe concertos with the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia (now the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia) and the New York Symphonic Ensemble. In addition, she was the solo English hornist of the Minnesota Orchestra for seven years. She is a featured artist on a CD of Beethoven and Triebensee oboe trios released on the ASV Quicksilver label.

Masoudnia is on the faculty of Temple University and the Philadelphia International Music Festival, where she teaches oboe and English horn and coaches chamber music. She currently resides in Gladwyne, PA, with her husband, two children and one Bernese Mountain dog.

Biography courtesy of The Philadelphia Orchestra
Photo: Jessica Griffin