Alex Kinmonth has served as Principal Oboe (Jack A. and Aviva Robinson Chair) of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra since 2015, appointed by Leonard Slatkin. He can be heard on the DSO’s recordings of Tchaikovsky’s first, second, fourth, and sixth symphonies. He is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where he studied with Nathan Hughes of The Metropolitan Opera.
Kinmonth has played as a substitute musician with The Metropolitan Opera on both oboe and English horn and in the Charleston (SC) Symphony Orchestra. In the summer of 2022, Kinmonth participated in the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego CA, and the Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, MA. In previous summers, he has attended the Music Academy of the West, the Round Top Institute, and the Aspen Festival, where he received a fellowship in 2014. He also participated in the prestigious New York String Orchestra Seminar at Carnegie Hall in 2013.
Kinmonth is a winner of the Professional Musicians Club of Boston’s Award for “Outstanding Achievement.” During his time in New York, Kinmonth performed operas, orchestral works, and new music with the Juilliard Orchestra and New Juilliard Ensemble, working with noted conductors including James Levine, Kurt Masur, and Jaap van Zweden.
Aside from music, Kinmonth has also pursued athletic, social, and academic interests. He participated in the 2010 National Junior Olympics for fencing and enjoys soccer and downhill mountain biking. He is also the winner of a National Gold Key Award in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards’ Short Story category.