Libby Van Cleve

Libby Van Cleve serves as Adjunct Professor of Music at Connecticut College and Wesleyan University, while also directing Yale’s Oral History of American Music. Her career spans performance, scholarship, and pedagogy in contemporary and chamber music contexts.

Education:

• B.A., Bowdoin College (magna cum laude)
• M.A., California Institute of the Arts
• D.M.A., M.M.A., M.M., Yale School of Music

Van Cleve is internationally recognized for pioneering work in contemporary oboe performance, with critics acclaiming her as "the double reed queen of the new music world" (Hartford Courant). Her research focuses on extended oboe techniques, 20th/21st-century repertoire, and oral history methodologies in American music. She bridges performance practice with scholarly documentation through her leadership at Yale’s Oral History of American Music.

Scientific Recognition:

• Author of "Oboe Unbound" (Rowman and Littlefield Press), the definitive text on contemporary oboe techniques
• Co-author of award-winning "Composers' Voices from Ives to Ellington" (Yale University Press)

As an educator, Van Cleve mentors students in oboe performance and contemporary music interpretation at Connecticut College and Wesleyan University. Her professional activities integrate performance, archival work, and scholarly publication without mention of external grants. She maintains active performance and research through Yale’s Oral History project and personal artistic practice.