Stephen Robinson has been Principal Oboe of Orchestra Victoria since 1985 and one of Australia’s leading oboists. He was born in Melbourne and studied at the University of Melbourne and The Victorian College of the Arts, and went on to further studies at the Musikhochschule Freiburg, Germany with Heinz Holliger.

Stephen has been Solo Oboist with I Solisti Veneti and has held positions in the Queensland Theatre Orchestra and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. He has also played as Guest Principal Oboe with the Adelaide and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras.

As a member of Australia’s acclaimed contemporary music ensemble Elision, he has performed at festivals throughout the world, and has performed with Ensemble Modern.

Stephen’s interest in extending new techniques for the oboe has led to collaborations with composers such as Liza Lim, Michael Smetanin, Chris Dench, Richard Barrett, David Young, Mary Finsterer and John Rogers. In 1999 his work with Rogers led to the development of the ice oboe which he played at the Third Asia Triennial in Brisbane and at the 2000 Adelaide Festival.

Stephen teaches oboe at the University of Melbourne and Monash University. He is a founding member of Melbourne Windpower, and has been an examiner for the Australian Music Examinations Board since 1997. As a tutor in the orchestral programs of The Australian Youth Orchestra, he has mentored many of our new generation of musicians.