OBOE

David Weiss, Principal Oboist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for thirty years (1973-2003), was born in New York City in 1947. At three years of age he began piano lessons with his mother, Marcia Weiss, and at age ten began oboe lessons. As a youngster in Los Angeles, he played in the Meremblum and Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestras, and was a scholarship student at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara for three summers during his high school years. In his last year he earned the prestigious "Maurice Abravanel Director’s Award."

A scholarship student at the University of Southern California, his studies were shortened by his acceptance of Principal Oboe with the Metropolitan Opera National Company on a 43-week tour of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Having lost his student deferment, and with the Vietnam war expanding, at the close of the opera tour Mr. Weiss enlisted in the Army as First Oboe of the West Point Military Academy Band (1966-1969). He then joined the Pittsburgh Symphony as Associate Principal Oboe, and two years later became Principal Oboe of the National Symphony in Washington, D.C. In 1973 he returned "home" to Los Angeles.
Mr. Weiss has recorded numerous symphonic works with many conductors including Leonard Bernstein, Antal Dorati, Carlo Maria Giulini, Erich Leinsdorf, Zubin Mehta, Andre Previn, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. In addition, he has played on the soundtracks for close to seventy motion pictures. A solo recording on Crystal Records entitled THE WEISS FAMILY WOODWINDS features David along with his brother Abe (Principal Bassoon of the Rochester Philharmonic) and his sister Dawn (Principal Flute of the Oregon Symphony). As a soloist Mr. Weiss has appeared several times in Carnegie Recital Hall, at New York’s Caramoor Festival, at Avery Fisher Hall, and at the Kennedy Center. His first concerto performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic was in 1962 when he was fifteen years old, and since then has been featured dozens of times. Besides his teaching related activities mentioned on the home page, for the past fifteen years David has served as Chairman of the Music Advisory Board of the Young Musicians Foundation of Los Angeles, and before retiring from the Philharmonic served a two-year stint as Chairman of the Audition Committee. For the past several years he has been a faculty member at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, and the Henry Mancini Institute in Los Angeles.
Since 1982, Mr. Weiss has gained notoriety for his performances on the musical saw (a hardware-store variety Stanley Handyman).