Ricardo Castañeda
Symphony Program Director | Chamber Music Retreat Program Director | Oboe | Oak Park, IL
2025 marks Ricardo Castañeda’s 28th year at Birch Creek and his 25th year as Symphony Session Program Director. Castañeda received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music performance from Northwestern University. He is a winner of the Northwestern University Concerto Competition and a recipient of the Wade Fetzer award for excellence in performance. Castañeda has appeared as a soloist in Latin America, Europe, the United States and Japan. He is currently Principal Oboist with the Chicago Sinfonietta, and solo English Horn with the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also a member of the Chicago Ensemble and Barossa Woodwind Quintet. An active freelance musician, Castañeda enjoys performing all genres of music. He has played with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera Orchestra, Grant Park Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Opera Theater, and has been principal oboist for orchestras for the Bolshoi Ballet, American Ballet Theater, and Joffrey Ballet as well as numerous Broadway in Chicago shows. Castañeda is on the faculty at the University of Illinois - Chicago and Northeastern Illinois University. He is integral to the development and oversight of Symphony session programming.