2025 marks the 35-year anniversary of the founding of the OBOHIO double reed consort founded by Robert Sorton in 1990. The original members included Robert Sorton (oboe), P. Bailey Sorton (oboe d’amore), Sarah Hamilton (English horn) and Christopher Weait (bassoon). Three members of the newly-formed ensemble, Hilary Hobbs, Samantha Zelnik and Michael Rueda, hold degrees from The Ohio State University where they studied under Robert Sorton, and they owe much of their musical development and musicianship to him and his wife P. Bailey Sorton.
Dr. Hilary Hobbs teaches at Kenyon College as an Adjunct Instructor of Music and was Principal Oboe of the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra for the 2023-2024 season. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts (2023) degree from Rutgers University and Master (2019) and Bachelor of Music (2017) degrees from The Ohio State University. She has performed at the Lake George Music Festival, Festival Napa Valley, the Akropolis Chamber Music Institute, Atlantic Music Festival, Hidden Valley Music Seminar, Fresh Inc. Festival, Rocky Ridge Young Artist Seminar, and the International Music Mastercourses Festival. Dr. Hobbs served as Principal Oboe (2022-2023) and Second Oboe/English Horn (2021-2022) in the Brook Orchestra. She has performed with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Huntington Symphony Orchestra, South Orange Symphony, Monmouth Symphony, Worthington Chamber Orchestra and the Knox County Symphony. She maintains her own reed making business and private lessons studio in Grove City, OH.
Based in Fort Myers, Florida, Samantha Zelnik plays as principal oboist of the Gulf Coast Symphony and is the second oboist and English Horn player for the Savannah Philharmonic. She actively performs with numerous other orchestras around the country including the Augusta Symphony, Firelands Symphony Orchestra, Naples Camerata, and is a substitute musician with the New World Symphony. In addition to performing, Samantha has a studio of private students in Florida, and regularly coaches oboe students in local schools. An avid reed maker, Samantha has been selling oboe reeds to students and professionals alike since 2018. Samantha’s summers have been spent playing with the Lakeside Symphony, attending Eastern Music Festival, Rocky Ridge Music Festival, and Marrowstone Music Festival. Outside the US, she performed at the International Double Reed Society conference in Granada, Spain. Her major teachers include Robert Sorton, former associate principal oboe of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Nick Stovall, principal oboist of the National Symphony Orchestra.
Michael Rueda is the adjunct instructor of Oboe at Marietta College. He is a freelance musician, private instructor, reed maker, and oboe and English horn repair technician based in Columbus, Ohio. In 2023, he was the oboe instructor at the summer music festival Mozart in the Knobs for its inaugural year. Rueda is a member and co-founder of Zephyr Chamber Winds, a chamber music organization in the central Ohio area. He has performed with groups such as the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, the Canton Symphony Orchestra, the Lima Symphony Orchestra and wind quintet, and the New Albany Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Rueda maintains a private studio in the Columbus area, and 3d designs and prints musical accessories for oboe and English horn.
As the assistant teaching professor of bassoon at The Ohio State University, Jesse Schartz brings a wealth of experience to share with his students. Prior to this appointment, Schartz served nearly two decades in the United States Air Force Bands as principal bassoon and music director of various chamber ensembles. His versatile playing with these groups is featured on nine different studio albums spanning his military career. He has toured extensively in the United States and has performed in over 20 countries across Europe and the Middle East. Schartz is currently the principal bassoonist with the Central Ohio Symphony. As an associate musician he has played bassoon and contrabassoon with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Virginia Musical Theatre, Opera Columbus, and the Columbus Symphony. Schartz confidently explores a wide range of musical interests and enjoys collaborating with fellow creatives in a variety of ensembles and settings.
