Lilli Mathews is a versatile oboist who has performed in venues across the continental United States, Europe, and South America. Mathews is a 2025 graduate of the University of Michigan, where she studied with Dr. Nancy Ambrose King towards her Master of Music in Oboe Performance. Here, she fine-tuned her musicianship through regularly playing in orchestra, band, opera, chamber, solo, and new music performances. Outside of the coursework, Mathews substituted in local groups like the Dearborn Symphony and instructed oboe students through Michigan Youth Ensembles, Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Youth Outreach Programs, and as a guest teaching artist at Ann Arbor Public Schools.

To fuel her passion for new music and support for young artists, Lilli applied and was the recipient of a 2024 EXCEL Enterprise Grant Fund to commission new music composer Dianne Link to write an advanced oboe trio. The trio, Leaky Sink, is composed of three movements, all focusing on a different carbon sink native to the state of Michigan.

During her undergraduate degree at Shenandoah Conservatory, Mathews regularly performed with the Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, and EDGE New Music Ensemble, where she often performed as principal oboist. Some highlights from her time at Shenandoah Conservatory include performing Quiet City by Aaron Copland with the Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, being selected to perform with her wind quintet in the Honors Chamber Music Recital, and performing as principal oboist in Mahler’s 5th Symphony on tour across Argentina. Mathews is also the sole undergraduate recipient of the 2022 Lorraine Pederson Memorial Scholarship for Orchestra Performance, a special scholarship awarded to two members of the conservatory orchestra annually.

Lilli is an alum of Eastern Musical Festival, Akropolis Summer Chamber Institute, and Prague Summer Nights. She has played in masterclasses for Katherine Needleman, Jung Choi, Lindsay Flowers, and the Grammy Award-winning Akropolis Reed Quintet.