Tom Gallant: The Oboe Virtuoso Who Conquered the “Ill Wind”

The Multifaceted Life of Tom Gallant: Musician, Producer, and More

Considered by many to be the most difficult of all musical instruments, the oboe is often called the “ill wind that no one blows good.” Tom Gallant is a First Prize Winner of the Concert Artists Guild International New York Competition and one of very few musicians ever to win this competition as an oboe soloist. His solo and chamber music performances have taken him to David Geffen Hall, Weill Recital Hall, and the Frick Collection in New York City, as well as to Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Chicago, the Spoleto Festival in Italy, and the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center. He has appeared as a guest soloist with the Kronos Quartet at the Ravinia Festival and has collaborated with flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal, Cuarteto Casals from Spain, the Calder, Tesla, and Lark Quartets, Cuarteto Latinoamericano from Mexico, and the Adaskin String Trio. Notable performances include a concert of solo and chamber music works for the oboe at the Library of Congress and the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, as well as tours across the United States as a soloist with Camerata Bariloche from Argentina and the String Orchestra of New York City, performing concerti by Bach and Vaughan Williams.

Tom Gallant was born into a large working-class family to a Portuguese mother and Quebecois father. When he first brought home an oboe from the local band program, his family was initially disappointed as they did not know what an oboe was and asked him to “go back to school and return it for an instrument like all the other kids play, such as the trumpet or clarinet.” After achieving early successes, he stopped performing for many years and has only recently returned to performing on “the ill wind that no one blows good.”

Tom Gallant has always worn many hats as a professional musician, concert producer, host, and artist manager. Over the years, he has been involved in managing several summer music festivals and producing concerts in a wide variety of venues, from Carnegie Hall in New York City to Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. Tom produced his first concerts in his backyard as a child at the age of 12. He lives in New York City and keeps busy with stand-up comedy, fly fishing, waiting in line at airport security, and traveling to exotic places.

“Mr. Gallant was the superb soloist” - Cleveland Plain Dealer