Bio

Geoffrey Deemer has been the Principal Oboe of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, holding the Judith and Marshall Meyer Chair, in memory of her brother, Dr. Lawrence Pinsof, and the Academy of Vocal Arts orchestra since 2001 and Principal Oboe of Opera Philadelphia orchestra since 2009. He began performing with The Knights, a New York-based chamber orchestra, in 2014.

A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music where he was a student of Richard Woodhams, Geoff is a consummate professional who is equally at home in a variety of settings. In addition to his regular performances with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Academy of Vocal Arts, and Opera Philadelphia, he is a member of two chamber music ensembles, the Amerita Chamber Players and the Dolce Suono Ensemble. He has performed four concerti with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, including Vaughan Williams’ Oboe Concerto. The Philadelphia Inquirer called his performance “bold” and “detailed.” He has also performed concerti with the Pennsylvania Ballet and Schola Nova. He is a substitute with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Geoff has performed with the world's best conductors including James Levine, Christoph Eschenbach, Kurt Mazur, Simon Rattle, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Mstislav Rostropovich, André Previn, Sir Neville Marriner, David Zinman, Robert Spano, Hans Vonk, Otto Werner-Muller, Ignat Solzhenitsyn, Marin Alsop, Yuri Temirkanov, Jahja Ling, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Geoff has also performed with many stars of the popular music world, including Julie Andrews, Elvis Costello, Ben Folds, Linda Ronstadt, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, and Béla Fleck. Geoff can be heard in the soundtrack to the holiday animated film Tom & Jerry’s Mousecracker.

Geoff has taught at Franklin & Marshall College, Haverford College, and Settlement Music School. He has a small studio of private students.

Geoff was born and raised on Cape Cod. He is an alumni of the Longy School of Music, the New England Conservatory, the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and the Verbier Festival, in Switzerland.

In his spare time, Geoff enjoys cooking, fly fishing, traveling, reading, and playing video games. He is a Boston Red Sox fan. He lives in a suburb of Philadelphia with his wife, Christina, and cats, Ivy and Pickles.