ABOUT Our Artistic Director, John Abberger

One of North America’s leading performers on historical oboes, John Abberger was principal oboist with Toronto’s Tafelmusik for 35 years, from 1989 to spring 2024.

He has performed extensively in North America, Europe and Asia, and appears regularly with other prominent period-instrument ensembles, including Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Washington Bach Consort, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Ensemble Voltaire, Handel and Haydn Society, and Boston Baroque.

His critically acclaimed recordings on Analekta include his reconstruction of Bach’s oboe concertos and orchestral suites, and Gramophone Magazine glowingly reviewed his recording of Alessandro Marcello’s Concerto for Oboe as “one of the best there is.”

A native of Orlando, Florida, he trained at the Juilliard School and Louisiana State University, and holds a Performers Certificate in Early Music from New York University. He has taught at the City College of New York, and serves on the faculty at the University of Toronto and the Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School. John is also the founder and Artistic Director of the Toronto Bach Festival.