Melissa Peña

Melissa Peña serves as Associate Professor of Oboe and General Music at the University of Oregon's School of Music and Dance, maintaining an active dual career in academia and professional performance. She currently holds the position of Associate Principal Oboe/English Horn with the New Mexico Philharmonic while performing with major orchestras including the Oregon Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Santa Fe Opera.

Her educational credentials include a Master of Music in Oboe Performance from the University of Missouri–Kansas City (1998) and a Bachelor of Music in Oboe Performance from the University of Illinois (1996), where she studied under Barbara Bishop and Nancy Ambrose King.

Peña's research focuses on oboe performance practice, contemporary music interpretation, and chamber music collaboration. She specializes in expanding the oboe repertoire through partnerships with living composers, particularly in interdisciplinary contexts that integrate spoken word and new media. Her performance philosophy emphasizes technical precision within expressive contemporary frameworks.

Her recorded works demonstrate consistent engagement with 21st-century classical trends, featuring premieres of works by prominent American composers. These projects reveal thematic patterns in desert-inspired soundscapes, collaborative new music creation, and innovative approaches to traditional wind instrumentation.

As a chamber musician, Peña is integral to the Oregon Wind Quintet and serves as a core performer in Albuquerque's Chatter series—a weekly program combining chamber music with spoken word. She has also appeared at prestigious festivals including Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and Music from Angel Fire with Ida Kavafian.