School of Music

Paul A Chinen

Paul A Chinen, D.M.A
Assistant Professor, Oboe  
Browne 127
Email: PA-Chinen@wiu.edu

Dr. Paul Chinen is currently the Assistant Professor of Oboe at Western Illinois University, and Oboist in the resident ensemble the Camerata Winds. Prior to moving to Macomb, Paul was the Principal Oboe of the Great Falls Symphony and Oboist in the Chinook Winds Woodwind Quintet. Most recently he was appointed Associate Principal Oboe with the Helena Symphony in 2021. Previously, he held the position of 2nd Oboe with the Miami Symphony Orchestra and 2nd Oboe/English Horn in the Florida Grand Opera and Palm Beach Symphony.

Paul has also performed with the Billings Symphony Orchestra, Greenville Symphony, Miami City Ballet, Fairfax Symphony, American Festival Pops Orchestra, South Florida Symphony and New World Symphony. He can also be heard playing Principal Oboe on two NAXOS albums, most recently “Gottsch; Sunset/Princess Yurievskaya, South Florida Symphony” and “Gershwin, Tower, Piston, Harbison; Orchestral Works, National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic.”

Originally from Honolulu, HI, Paul received his Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Miami Frost School of Music where he was a graduate teaching assistant and fellow in the Henry Mancini Institute. Previous degrees include a Master of Music from the Lynn Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor of Music from George Mason University where he also studied Classical Saxophone.

During the summer months, Paul has performed across the country and abroad as part of numerous music festivals including the Kent Blossom Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, Hot Springs Music Festival, Vancouver Summer Orchestra Institute at Whistler, Talis Music festival, and various others. He has also been on faculty at the Pacific Music Institute in Honolulu, HI and Judith Lapple Summer Woodwind Camp in Fairfax, Virginia.

In his free time Paul enjoys playing and coaching tennis, or finding the next best bowl of ramen.