Shianne Bonham- Oboist

Shianne has studied and performed a wide range of oboe repertoire with both my ensembles and in her lessons. The ethos of the Blair School of Music is centered around the expansion and inclusion of the Western canon, while still respecting and educating its students on the repertoire in which the history of Western classical music was built. In her private instruction, she has studied much of the standard oboe repertoire, which includes the Oboe Quartet in F Major (Mozart), The Six Metamorphoses after Ovid (Britten), Three Romances for Oboe and Piano (Schumann), and many more. In the Spring of 2023, Shianne performed the quartet, Voyage of Life, which contained solo oboe and string trio. In fall 2024 the Blair School of Music hosted the “Florence Price: A Celebration” a series of concerts and lectures which honor the late composer, Florence Price. She played principal oboe for the performances of her pieces Piano Concerto in D minor and Ethiopia’s Shadow In America. 

Shianne Bonham is a wonderfully talented oboist, whose musicality is inspired by her humanity. Shianne has a profound perspective on art as cultural expression that is informed by the musical experiences she has pursued abroad. These include participation in impactful outreach projects in Columbia, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.
— Dr. Thomas Verrier Associate Professor and Director of Wind Studies

Fellowship at Vanderbilt

In the Fall of 2022, I was selected as a Buchanan Library Fellow on the project “The Diverse World of Dr. Yusef A. Lateef: From Archives to Performance. Here, I researched the life and story of Dr. Lateef, a former jazz artist who explored global music traditions, spirituality, and even double reeds. My part of the research focused on his tours within Africa and the Middle East where much of his double-reed inspiration was found. At the conclusion of the fellowship, I and the other fellows held a lecture recital where we shared our findings. I performed the highly anticipated Romance for Oboe D’amore and Harp.

In addition to my classical studies at the Blair School of Music, I have also been heavily involved with Dr. Thomas Verrier’s “Banding Together” initiative which seeks to pursue connection and understanding through music, specifically connecting countries in central/south America and the United States. Through this program, I have traveled to the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Colombia. The trip to Cuba was an unprecedented collaboration between the US embassy and the Institute of Cuban Music  I plan to travel once more with this program next spring.