About

Hi! My name is Claire Bravo Cutting. As a conservatory-trained oboist, I am particularly sensitive to the intricacies of oboe repair. I especially enjoy working one-on-one with clients to match each oboe adjustment with their reed and embouchure set-up so that the oboe becomes part of the player.

 

My oboe performance studies include The Boston Conservatory, studying with Robert Sheena, and Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts (CCPA), studying with Peggy Michel. When I moved to Chicago, I discovered that there was no longer an oboe repair specialist in the area. Peggy encouraged me to explore the possibilities of instrument repair because I was often helping my peers to figure out why their oboes weren’t functioning properly. I attended Minnesota Southeast Technical in Red Wing, MN for repair studies where I learned about repairing woodwind and brass instruments. There, I started to focus my interest to oboe, bassoon, and clarinet family instruments. My present clients include members of the oboe, bassoon, and clarinet sections of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra. I am a member of the National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians and the International Double Reed Society.

 

In addition to repairing, I am currently playing English horn/2nd oboe with the Evanston Symphony Orchestra. I love baking, painting, going to art museums, and game nights with my husband and his kids. I spend most of my time with my two English mastiffs, Gaia and Táru (they like to help around the shop!).