Robyn van Eck

Director of Bonham Conservatory, Oboe

Robyn van Eck earned her Master of Music in Oboe Performance at Meadows School of the Arts, at SMU, studying under Eric Barr.  While there, she was the first oboist in the school’s history to win the Concerto Competition, playing the Mozart Oboe Concerto.  Robyn performed in many orchestras, including the New World Symphony under conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, Fort Worth Symphony, and our own Sherman Symphony.  She has played principal oboe for many symphony, opera, and other performances, including such notable-for-oboe pieces as Tchaikowsky’s 4th Symphony and Beethoven’s 7th; and played 2nd Oboe with the Shreveport Symphony on the death-defying (for the 2nd oboist) Brahms Haydn Variations.

In 2008, she semi-retired from the oboe to focus on her duties as a mother.  In addition to her performance credentials, Robyn brings know-how as a skilled pedagogue.  She has more than 25 years of experience as an educator, from her private oboe studio to teaching classes at church and homeschool groups.

In 2014, the growing van Eck family settled in Honey Grove, where they have lived happily ever after.  Robyn is delighted to bring her expertise in music performance and pedagogy to Bonham Conservatory.