School of Music

Paul A Chinen

Paul A Chinen, D.M.A
Assistant Professor, Oboe  
Browne 127
Email: PA-Chinen@wiu.edu

Dr. Paul Chinen is currently the Assistant Professor of Oboe at Western Illinois University and Oboist in the resident Woodwind Quintet, the Camerata Winds. He also holds the position of 2nd oboe with Orchestra Iowa in Cedar Rapids. Prior to moving to Macomb, Paul was the Principal Oboe of the Great Falls Symphony and Oboist in the Chinook Winds Woodwind Quintet.

Previous positions include Associate Principal Oboe with the Helena Symphony and 2nd Oboe/ English Horn in the Florida Grand Opera and Palm Beach Symphony. Paul has also performed with the Billings Symphony Orchestra, Greenville Symphony, Miami City Ballet, Fairfax Symphony, American Festival Pops Orchestra, Miami Symphony, South Florida Symphony, and New World Symphony.

As a sought-after soloist, Paul gave the world premiere of Robert W. Smith's Oboe Concerto, "Cosmic Harmonies," in February 2023 with the WIU Wind Ensemble and was the featured guest soloist with the South East Iowa Symphony performing Jean Françaix’s "Flower Clock" concerto.

He can be heard playing Principal Oboe on two NAXOS albums, most recently "Gottsch; Sunset/Princess Yurievskaya, South Florida Symphony" and "Gershwin, Tower, Piston, Harbison; Orchestral Works, National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic."

Originally from Honolulu, HI, Paul received his Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Miami Frost School of Music, where he was a graduate teaching assistant and fellow in the

Henry Mancini Institute. Previous degrees include a Master of Music from the Lynn Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor of Music from George Mason University, where he also studied Classical Saxophone.

During the summer months, Paul has performed across the country and abroad as part of numerous music festivals, including the Kent Blossom Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, Hot Springs Music Festival, Vancouver Summer Orchestra Institute at Whistler, Talis Music Festival, and various others. He has previously served as faculty at the Pacific Music Institute in Honolulu, HI, and the Judith Lapple Summer Woodwind Camp in Fairfax, Virginia.