Caroline Giassi was born and raised in New York City where she began her musical training at a very early age on a Cracker Jack box as a violin. She eventually graduated to a real, wooden instrument and later switched to the oboe. While pursuing her undergraduate degree in oboe performance at the University of Michigan, Caroline also earned a degree in comparative literature which fostered in her a love of approaching material in its original context and language. This naturally led her to the world of performance practice and historical oboes.
As a freelance musician, Caroline enjoys a variety of opportunities to both perform and teach across the country. This season’s highlights include Albinoni and Vivaldi concerto performances with Museum Concerts of Rhode Island (Providence, RI), Beethoven’s rarely heard opera Leonore with Opera Lafayette (Washington D.C), and a chamber concert with Chatham Baroque (Pittsburgh, PA). For the first time, Caroline is organizing her own concert in Elmira, NY and is very much looking forward to sharing her love of historical performance as well as her colleague’s musical talents with her local community. She is also thrilled to be joining New York State Baroque, The Sebastians, Pegasus Early Music, and Early Music New York again this season.
“Caroline Giassi’s oboe solos struck gold”
In addition to performing, Caroline is also a dedicated educator and works with students of all ages. As a teaching artist for S’Cool Sounds, a NYC based music education program, she teaches classroom recorder and ensemble skills to 2nd graders in Brooklyn, NY. She is also a continuing guest artist at the University of Michigan where she works with undergraduate through doctoral students to teach baroque oboe and coach performance practice. This year, Caroline also has residencies at Louisiana State University, University of Missouri – Kansas City, and the University of Kansas.
“insightful and sophisticated”
Caroline studied at the University of Michigan where she earned a B.A in comparative literature and a B.M in oboe performance. She pursued graduate studies in oboe at The Yale School of Music and subsequently was awarded a fellowship in baroque oboe as the first and only wind player to join the Yale Baroque Ensemble. Caroline continued her baroque studies at The Juilliard School for a second master’s degree in historical performance. Her principal teachers include Toyin Spellman-Diaz, Nancy Ambrose King, Stephen Taylor, and Gonzalo Ruiz.
When not playing the oboe or making reeds, Caroline spends her time powerlifting, cooking, knitting, and spending time at home or exploring the outdoors with her husband and cat (who, despite her interest in the outdoors, only observes from the safety of a windowsill). She resides in Corning, NY and New York City.