Richard Oldberg was a respected musician and educator, serving as a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) horn section for more than 30 years as well as a professor at Northwestern University. Richard passed away at the age of 83 on December 27, 2021, in Estes Park, Colorado, where he had retired.
Born on June 21, 1938, in Evanston, Illinois, Richard began studying horn through his school band program and attended Evanston Township High School during his time in the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO). Richard was honored with CYSO’s Note of Excellence Alumni Award in 2013. He was nominated by his wife Mary (Emery) Oldberg, a fellow 1956 CYSO alum. Mary wrote in her nominating essay that Richard was the one who introduced her to CYSO and they went on to attend together through all four years of high school. She noted that Richard “gives credit to the CYSO for the start it gave him in a very long and successful career”.
He went on to study music at Harvard College – note: he lived in Adams House and was a member of the Harvard Class of 1960 -- and at Northwestern University. A lip injury temporarily forced Richard to give up playing, but with the encouragement of teacher and CSO principal horn Christopher Leuba, he was invited to perform as an extra horn with CSO in 1962. Richard continued to work as a substitute and eventually joined as assistant principal horn for the 1963-64 season. He moved to third horn the next season and became a frequent soloist with the CSO. A dedicated educator, Richard Oldberg served on the faculty at Northwestern University for many years. Interestingly, Richard’s grandfather, Arne Oldberg, was a prominent composer, pianist and educator, serving on the faculty at Northwestern University from 1897 until 1941. Between 1909 and 1954, the CSO gave the world premieres of sixteen of Arne’s works, including his Third, Fourth and Fifth symphonies and a violin concerto.
Though technically retired when he moved to Colorado in the late 1990s, Richard continued his involvement in music. He played with the Midland Odessa (Texas) Symphony and Chorale as well as the Fresno (California) Philharmonic for several years and was first horn in the Boulder Philharmonic for ten years. He began to explore conducting and conducted works with the Boulder Ballet and Boulder Philharmonic. He continued to teach into his retirement as well, and was highly respected by students, teachers, and conductors alike.
Richard also enjoyed his longtime hobbies of book collecting (mostly Sherlock Holmes and mountaineering), model railroads and hand-copying the scores of Richard Wagner’s operas. In a July 1989 interview for the CSO’s Oral History Project, Oldberg reflected on his time in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. “I’ve had a grand time. Like Lou Gehrig said, I’m the luckiest person on the face of the earth., I’m doing what I want to do. This isn’t work, this is fun, and I’m having a wonderful time doing it, playing the music that we play, and so, I’m a very happy fellow as a result.”
Richard Oldberg’s wife Mary preceded him in death in 2019. He is survived by his son David from a previous marriage.
