Virginia Symphony League Principal Oboe Chair

Oboist Alexander Mayer has appeared in concert halls around the world and joins the Virginia Symphony as Principal Oboe in January 2024. A passionate orchestral player, he served as an acting member of the Minnesota Orchestra in Fall 2023, and has freelanced with orchestras such as The Metropolitan Opera, Richmond Symphony, and The Florida Orchestra. In 2023, Mayer was a member of the Verbier Festival Orchestra as well as Spoleto Festival USA, and was previously a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. In recent years he has also been a part of the New York String Orchestra Seminar, National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Sarasota Music Festival, and le Domaine Forget International Music Festival. In 2018 he participated as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, touring across Asia under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas.

Mayer received his Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School studying with Nathan Hughes, and is currently working towards a Master’s degree, also at Juilliard. A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Mayer previously studied with Martin Schuring and Nikolaus Flickinger, and has been supported over the years by the Arizona Musicfest Scholarship. Outside of music, he can be found hiking and exploring outdoors or enjoying strategy/puzzle games.