Graham Mackenzie will be joining Orchestra London as principal oboist in the fall of 2014.  He has been principal oboist of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra since 2006, as well as the Niagara Symphony Orchestra since 2013.  Maintaining the three positions simultaneously will be an exciting and unusual challenge. He was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago for the 2009-2010 season, has performed frequently as principal oboist of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, and has been engaged regularly as a freelance musician in Indianapolis, Winnipeg, Chicago, and many cities in Southern Ontario.  He has been a member of the Tanglewood Music Centre, National Repertory Orchestra, the Music Academy of the West, the National Academy Orchestra, l’Orchestre de la Francophonie Canadienne, and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Graham earned a Bachelor of Music from Wilfrid Laurier University, studying with James Mason, and a Master of Music from DePaul University, studying with Eugene Izotov.  He has completed two years of coursework toward a Doctor of Music at Indiana University, studying with Roger Roe and Linda Strommen.  He has performed as soloist with the Windsor, Kitchener-Waterloo, Music Academy of the West, Wilfrid Laurier University, and Windsor Community Orchestras, as well as the Hamilton Philharmonic, playing concertos by Bach, Marcello, Mozart, and Strauss. An avid chamber musician, he is a founding member of Trio Pistachio, and has performed in many Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society concerts as well as the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.  He has also pursued chamber music studies at the Domaine Forget Music Academy, the Scotia Festival of Music, and Windfest.

In addition to his performing career, Graham is a passionate teacher.  He maintains a studio of private oboe and piano students, has conducted orchestral excerpts masterclasses at Wilfrid Laurier University, and was co-founder of the Tumble Reeds Music Studio in Windsor, Ontario.  Through this studio, he and his wife co-directed a March Break music day camp and the Marentette Minstrels children’s choir.  He believes that instilling love and enthusiasm for classical music is vitally important, and looks forward to doing this through various teaching and outreach activities in London.