Abby Yeakle Held
Dr. Abby Yeakle Held proudly serves as Adjunct Professor of Oboe at Stephen F. Austin State University, where she was hired in 2018. She is passionate about cultivating the next generation of oboists, and preparing them for varied careers in music. Dr. Held’s duties at Stephen F. Austin include teaching Applied Oboe and general music coursework such as Music Appreciation and Music for Children. Additionally, Dr. Held performs with the Stone Fort Wind Quintet.
Outside of Stephen F. Austin, Dr. Abby Yeakle Held serves as Associate Principal Oboe of the Midland-Odessa Symphony. Dr. Held has performed with various orchestras across the country including the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Cheyenne Symphony, Wyoming Symphony, Lafayette Symphony, as well as the Castleton Festival Orchestra under the baton of the late Maestro Lorin Maazel. She has performed internationally in Austria and Belgium, including a recital at the United States Embassy in Vienna, Austria. Dr. Held’s varied career as a performer has also allowed her the opportunity to perform at the iconic Red Rocks outdoor amphitheater with DeVotchKa, a popular Indie Rock band out of Denver, Colorado.
Recognized as both a Fulbright Scholar and a recipient of the Presser Foundation Award, Dr. Abby Yeakle Held is distinguished in her field as an academic. She has published articles in English and German in various journal publications. Dr. Held’s Fulbright research surrounded the Viennese oboe: its history, tradition, current status, and cross-application to the modern French conservatory oboe. Dr. Held is the first to conduct and publish research of this kind, and is the foremost scholar on the topic outside of the instrument’s native community. Dr. Held regularly tours a lecture-recital on this research to major universities across the country as a special guest artist.
As a native of Houston, TX, Dr. Abby Yeakle Held is in high demand for oboe master classes and clinics in the greater Houston area and across the state of Texas. Prior to her appointment at Stephen F. Austin, she maintained a thriving private studio in Houston of 30+ students. There, she also served as Adjunct Professor of Music at Lone Star College where she taught general music coursework including American Music and Music Appreciation.
Dr. Held plays on a model 2001 Marigaux oboe. She is also fortunate to own a Rado Viennese oboe, made for her personally by Karl Radovanovich in Vienna, Austria. Her principal teachers include Univ.-Prof. Harald Hörth, Dr. Mark Ostoich, Peter Cooper, Dr. Doris DeLoach, and Emily Brebach.
Together with her husband, James, Dr. Held enjoys learning ballroom dancing, cooking, and improving her German language skills.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
“Dr. Abby Held is one of the brightest, passionate, empathetic teachers I have ever had the pleasure of meeting! Her enthusiasm is off the charts! She made me a better teacher!”