Amanda Hardy

Amanda Hardy is an assistant professor of oboe.

She became principal oboe of the Portland Symphony Orchestra (Maine) in November 2013, where she currently occupies the Clinton Graffam chair. As a recipient of the Gillet Scholarship and Tourjée Alumni Scholarship Award, Hardy studied with Boston Symphony Orchestra principal oboist John Ferrillo at New England Conservatory (NEC).

Hardy was the winner of the 2010 Borromeo String Quartet Guest Artist Award competition and has appeared as a soloist with the Boston Pops in Symphony Hall (2009), the Portland Symphony, the NEC Bach Ensemble, the Drake Symphony Orchestra, and the Des Moines Youth Symphony at the age of 16. In 2006, she won the grand prize in Iowa’s Bill Riley Talent Search, giving her statewide televised recognition. Recently, Hardy has been guest principal oboe with the Boston Pops, Boston Philharmonic, A Far Cry chamber orchestra, Emmanuel Music, and the Des Moines Symphony, and she frequently plays with the Boston Symphony, the Boston Pops, and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. 

Hardy is on the faculty of Boston Conservatory and the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, and she also teaches at Northeastern University; in addition, she has several years of private teaching experience on both oboe and piano.
 
Hardy holds a B.M. in oboe performance with a piano minor from Drake University and an M.M. and G.D. from NEC. Previous festivals include the MasterWorks Festival, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and Tanglewood Music Center in 2010 and 2011, where she was awarded the Mickey L. Hooten Memorial Award both summers. Her teachers include John Ferrillo, Marilyn Zupnik, Anne Gabriele, and Jay Light, with additional summer studies with Elaine Douvas and Richard Woodhams.