Elizabeth Starr Masoudnia – English horn, Oboe

Elizabeth Starr Masoudnia, solo English horn of the Philadelphia Orchestra since 1995, has toured the globe with the Philadelphia Orchestra to wide critical acclaim with many of the world’s finest conductors. She has premiered several solo English horn pieces written expressly for her, including concertos by Behzad Ranjbaran and Nicholas Maw, and David Ludwig’s Piccola Notturna for English horn, harp, and string quintet.

 A native of Philadelphia, Ms. Masoudnia graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied oboe with John de Lancie, former principal oboe of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and former president of the Curtis Institute of Music. Prior to that time, she studied oboe for 6 years with the acclaimed oboist and English hornist, Louis Rosenblatt, her predecessor in the Philadelphia Orchestra. 

Ms. Masoudnia was a participant in the Marlboro Music Festival and played oboe concertos with the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia (now the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia) and the New York Symphonic Ensemble. In addition, she was the solo English hornist of the Minnesota Orchestra for seven years and a featured artist on a CD of Beethoven and Triebensee oboe trios, released on the ASV Quicksilver Label.

Ms. Masoudnia is on the faculty of Temple University and the Philadelphia International Music Festival where she teaches oboe and English horn lessons and coaches chamber music. She currently resides in Gladwyne, PA with her husband, and one Bernese mountain dog.