Oboist Elizabeth Pérez-Hickman has performed in a wide variety of venues, under some of the most esteemed conductors, and works every day toward her goal: becoming principal oboist in a major symphony orchestra. A Venezuelan American from Miami who grew up steeped in the El Sistema system of music education, with its emphasis on music as a catalyst for social change, she is also passionate about education and advocacy. She performs as part of the Peabody at the Shelter program for residents at the Helping Up Mission, a community connection started by current graduate student Taylor Wang (BM ’24, Piano) with a Peabody Launch Grant. And in 2023, Pérez-Hickman was awarded a Launch Grant of her own to produce an album featuring the works of underrepresented composers. She says Peabody has encouraged her to be herself, both musically and culturally. And she dreams of gracing other young musicians with the same opportunities.
What does advocacy mean to you?
I think representation really, really matters. Every time I program a concert I try to champion different genres, different composers. I grew up in the El Sistema–inspired Miami Music Project and my orchestra conductors and teachers were all Venezuelan, so while we had rigorous classical training we would also play traditional Venezuelan joropos or gaitas because that’s our community. I play in a local homeless shelter once every month or two, where our audience, like Baltimore, is predominantly Black and Latin. We enjoy sharing classical music with them, but for Christmas my pianist and I also played “Jingle Bells” and had them sing along, and they loved it.
Tell me about your album.
It’s been so much fun. I arranged these Venezuelan waltzes—originally written for solo classical guitar—for oboe and guitar. And we recorded Mexican pieces and some music by Black Americans whose music was never recorded because of their identities. I especially wanted to highlight identities I grew up surrounded by in Miami, which especially includes Latin and Black voices. And it’s so important to program works by women. So that was the point—to promote all of these underrepresented voices. Plus, everyone involved in the project is a Peabody student, from the musicians to the videographer to the recording engineer. I love how collaborative we are here. I have felt supported at Peabody from the moment I arrived.
What inspired you to become an oboist?
I always loved music and started playing the piano when I was really young, then played violin in the Miami Music Project. But my best friend in middle school played the oboe and taught me to play in exchange for me teaching her the piano, and I really, really liked it. After I’d been playing oboe for about three months I asked my conductor, Alex Berti, if I could switch from violin to oboe and he said, “Sure, just play for me what we’re playing in orchestra.” And I did. It was Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9—I remember every detail, it was such an impactful moment—and I played a little and he said, “You need to play the oboe. It’s only been three months and I can’t imagine what you’ll be doing in a few years.”
Why is it so important to you to give back?
Because of all the people who’ve believedin me and helped me realize my dreams.My parents are immigrants from Venezuela. They were separated when I was young and money has always beentight. I rented my first baby oboe anddid a GoFundMe to buy the second. I won my first professional oboe when I won the Jack Kent Cooke Young ArtistAward, given by the radio program “Fromthe Top,” and was chosen to appear on their program, which is broadcast nationally on NPR. I got to go away to boarding school at Interlochen on a full scholarship, thanks to Miami Music Project and a generous donor named Dan Lewis. And I got to come to Peabody on the full scholarship awarded to two students, in partnership with El Sistema U.S.A., every year. And most recently Peabody faculty recommended me for the Evergreen House Foundation Scholarship, which I won, and which has bought me my first ever English horn! It’s not just the financial support. It’s all of these people who have had faith in me. I get very emotional just thinking about it, and I can’t imagine anything more satisfying than paying it forward.