Jillian Kouzel

Originally from San Antonio, TX, Dr. Jillian Kouzel is the newly appointed Assistant Professor of Oboe at the University of New Mexico. A sought-after guest artist, she regularly gives masterclasses and workshops at universities across the country. As an advocate for new music, Jillian has commissioned and premiered many new works for oboe, most recently including Quiet Triumphby Karalyn Schubring.
Jillian is an active freelance musician who has performed with ensembles such as the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Ann Arbor Symphony, Heartland Festival Orchestra, and Peoria Symphony, just to name a few. She previously held the position of utility oboe and English horn with the Lima Symphony Orchestra. A frequent soloist, she has appeared across the U.S. and internationally, including with the Illinois State University Wind Symphony in Roger Zare’s Ocean of Undiscovered Truth and with the Heart of Texas Concert Band in Oscar Navarro’s Legacy Oboe Concerto.
She can be heard on The Wind Ensemble Music of Arnold Rosner with the Austin-based collective Density 512, and on Fernande Decruck Concertante Works with the Jackson Symphony Orchestra. Her summer festival appearances include the National Repertory Orchestra, New York String Orchestra Seminar, Sarasota Chamber Music Festival, Round Top Festival Institute, Yale School of Music Chamber Festival at Norfolk, and Eastern Music Festival.
Previously, Jillian served as Assistant Professor of Oboe at Illinois State University, where she was also a member of the faculty woodwind quintet, Sonneries. She also held teaching appointments as Adjunct Professor of Oboe and Woodwind Methods at Saginaw Valley State University, Interim Professor of Oboe at Bowling Green State University, and as Interim Professor of Oboe at Heidelberg University.
She received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree, as well as dual Master’s degrees in Oboe Performance and Chamber Music, from the University of Michigan, where she studied with Nancy Ambrose King. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied with Andrew Parker and Rebecca Henderson.
Outside of music, Jillian is passionate about health and injury prevention. In 2017, she collaborated with the Austin-based Center for Music Therapy to record biomedical music for patients with neurological conditions. She also serves as the Events Coordinator for the International Double Reed Society’s Midnorth Double Reed Chapter and as the Performing Arts in Medicine Ambassador. In her free time, Jillian enjoys running and traveling.