Eugene Izotov

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Eugene Izotov (born 1973) is a Russian-born oboist and recording artist. He has been the Principal Oboist of the San Francisco Symphony since 2014, appointed by Michael Tilson Thomas, and he is the first Russian-born oboist to hold a principal chair in a major U.S. orchestra. Earlier, he was Principal Oboist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and the Kansas City Symphony, and he has appeared as guest Principal Oboe with the Boston Symphony and the New York Philharmonic. He studied with Ralph Gomberg at Boston University, which awarded him its Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Izotov has earned top prizes in international competitions in Moscow (1990), Saint Petersburg (1991), and New York (1995), and won First Prize at the 2001 Fernand Gillet International Oboe Competition. He has performed as a soloist and in chamber music with many renowned conductors and musicians, and has given over 70 solo appearances with major orchestras and festivals. His work appears on Grammy-winning recordings.

In addition to performing, Izotov teaches oboe at the Colburn School and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and has taught at Juilliard and DePaul University. He is a regular guest at many institutions and festivals, including the Verbier Festival and the Pacific Music Festival. He mentored the 2011 YouTube Symphony Orchestra and, in 2019, was invited by Valery Gergiev to serve on the first-ever woodwind jury of the Tchaikovsky International Competition. In 2025 he was named a U.S. Presidential Scholars Program Distinguished Teacher. Many of his former students now hold positions in major orchestras around the world.