Dwight Parry is the principal oboist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Professor of Oboe at Bowling Green State University. He is also Adjunct Professor of Oboe and Chamber Music at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He is a versatile and passionate soloist, an avid chamber musician and an active advocate
for new music, performing and teaching around the world. Mr. Parry's background in jazz has led him to pursue a career that spans from concert halls to the streets of New Orleans, where he has sat in and improvised with Dixie bands.
 

In May of 2022, Mr. Parry premiered a wonderful new oboe concerto, Les Belles Heures, by Guillaume Connesson, which was commissioned for him by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. He was then featured in the same piece with the Springfield (MO) Symphony. Mr. Parry went on to give the US premiere of Carl Vine's Oboe Concerto with the Ohio Valley Symphony later that year. In recent seasons, he performed the Martinů Oboe Concerto with the CCM Chamber Orchestra and the Strauss Oboe Concerto with the Prague Summer Nights Festival in the Czech Republic. He has also been a soloist with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for JS Bach's Brandenburg Concertos 1&2. After collaborating with Hansjörg Schellenberger in Mexico City, he was invited to Tokyo as a judge for the 2018 and 2023 Sony International Oboe Competitions.  In May 2025, he performed the Strauss Oboe Concerto with the Jakarta Symphony Orchestra in Indonesia.  Then in July, Mr. Parry gave the African premiere of Connesson's Les Belles Heures with the Stellenbosch Festival Orchestra in South Africa.

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Mr. Parry was formerly principal oboist of the San Diego Symphony and a Fellow with the New World Symphony. He has appeared as guest principal oboist with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Guangzhou Symphony, Deutsche Symphonie of Berlin and Korean Broadcasting Symphony.
 

Originally from coastal Southern California, he found his passion for music early on through piano, voice, and saxophone. In high school, Mr. Parry took up the oboe and decided to make a life in music. He went on to study at the Cleveland Institute of Music with John Mack and at the University of Southern California with Allan Vogel and David Weiss, a gentleman who also taught him to surf!
 

During the summer, he has taught at the Pacific Music Festival, the Interlochen Academy for the Arts and the Stellenbosch International Music
Festival in South Africa. He also performs with the Grand Teton Festival Orchestra, the Mainly Mozart Festival, the Lakes Area Music Festival, and Arizona MusicFest.  In those rare moments when he is without an oboe in hand, he can be found attending concerts, plays, and other community events. He spends the rest of his time hiking, reading, volunteering, tossing frisbees, and creating curiosities in the kitchen.
 

Mr. Parry is a Lorée artist.

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