Jeremiah Quarles

A native of North Carolina, Jeremiah Quarles serves as Lecturer of Oboe at Western Michigan University, where his responsibilities include teaching applied studies in oboe and reedmaking, coaching and coordinating chamber music, lecturing double reed woodwind methods and academic courses, and performing in the WMU faculty wind quintet. Previously, Jeremiah has held positions as Adjunct Professor of Oboe at Heidelberg University and Concordia University–Ann Arbor, Oboe Instructor for the Community Music School of Ann Arbor, and served as Reedmaking Instructor and Equipment Coordinator for the University of Michigan School of Music, Theater, and Dance’s oboe studio for the 2019–20 academic year. His students have been accepted into music degree programs such as the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Michigan.

A seasoned performer, Jeremiah has performed with numerous orchestras throughout the United States, including the Dearborn Symphony, Michigan Philharmonic, Southwest Michigan Symphony, Jackson Symphony, Piedmont Wind Symphony, North State Chamber Orchestra, Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Colour of Music Orchestra, and as acting English Horn for the Battle Creek Symphony’s 2017-2018 season. As a chamber musician Jeremiah has worked with world-renowned collaborative musicians such as violist Matt Albert of Eighth Blackbird and pianist Martin Katz. In his chamber music studies, Jeremiah researched and performed a substantive amount of music for Oboe and Strings, namely Oboe Quartets and Quintets with his chamber group The Counterfeit Quartet, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He has performed with popular musicians Vanessa Williams, Evanescence, Lindsey Stirling, and America.

Scholastically, Jeremiah has studied with and performed in masterclasses for internationally acclaimed oboists and pedagogues Christoff Hartmann, Andrew Parker, Christian Schmitt, Nermis Mieses, Celeste Johnson, Andreas Oeste, and Nancy Ambrose King, among others. His English horn playing has been described by Jana Brožková and Jiří Zelba of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra as, “impeccably professional.” Jeremiah holds both a Master of Music in Oboe Performance and a Master of Music in Chamber Music from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Music in Oboe Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. His principal teachers have included internationally acclaimed oboe soloist Dr. Nancy Ambrose King, Dr. Ashley Barret, and Mr. Robert Burkett.

In his extra-musical life Jeremiah enjoys gardening for himself and others, advocating for mental health care reform and awareness, studying poetry, and supporting local music, food, and breweries.