EMF Alumnae KAREN BIRCH BLUNDELL has served the festival as Associate Principal Oboe/English horn for 19 years. She is English horn for the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic and has performed with ensembles throughout the Northeast including the American Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony, Hartford Symphony, New Jersey Festival Orchestra, Springfield Symphony Orchestra and West Point Band.
Before moving to New York City, Karen was Second Oboe/English horn with the Sarasota Orchestra. While in Florida, she regularly guested with neighboring orchestras including the Florida Orchestra and the Naples Philharmonic. She has been a guest musician with The Houston Symphony, The Houston Ballet Orchestra and the Cincinnati Symphony. Beyond the Classical realm, Karen has toured the US with the New Sousa Band and performed with mega stars including Bernadette Peters, Idina Menzel, Mannheim Steamroller and The Who.
In addition to her work as a performer, Karen is a dedicated teaching artist and has worked on Community Engagement programs with a variety of organizations including the Sarasota Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic Mentoring Program, Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra and Young Audiences. She served as the Director of Community Engagement for the New World Symphony for two seasons. While there, she created programs that were implemented in schools throughout greater Miami. She has been a speaker/performer for Rotary International, Road Scholars, the Knight Foundation, the International Double Reed Society, Sister Cities Essex/Haiti and the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Over her years of teaching at the festival, she has presented a wide variety of seminars addressing topics such as performance anxiety, injury prevention, professionalism, and career development. Karen is also an advocate for dyslexia and recently started the Dyslexia Notes podcast to examine the intersection between dyslexia and music.
She holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory, the Hartt School of Music, and spent three years as a fellow at the New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. Her teachers include James Caldwell, Alex Klein, Humbert Lucarelli and Robert Atherholt. Karen is a Howarth Artist and plays on Howarth XL instruments. She lives in New York City with her husband, conductor Reuben Blundell, her daughter and a rather cantankerous cat.
Photo Credit: Matt Dine