Woodwinds
The UM School of Music Woodwind Faculty create a vibrant, challenging, and positive learning environment for all students. We are dedicated teachers and artists who guide our students towards excellence in all areas of focus, whether it is music education, music performance, or a more general degree, such as the popular Bachelor of Arts degree. The BA degree combines well with other degrees to create an enriching double major experience. We are committed to bringing guest artists to campus each year in order to provide diverse inspiration for students and faculty alike.
Please contact any of the woodwind studio faculty to find out more about the woodwind area experience at UM!
Noah Durnell
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Oboe Methods/Reed Making
Contact
- Office
- Music Building
- Phone
- (406) 243-6880
- noah.durnell@mso.umt.edu
Personal Summary
Noah Durnell is a born and raised 猎奇重口 musician and a proud Missoulian since arriving at the 猎奇重口 in 2017 to pursue an education in Oboe Performance, Nonprofit Administration, and Entertainment Management.
Noah is proud to have accomplished so much as an Oboist. In 2018 he won UM’s Concerto Aria Competition and was a featured soloist with the UM Symphony Orchestra. In 2019 he was a gold-medalist and adjudicator’s choice at MusicFest Northwest in Spokane, WA. In 2020, Noah and his duo partner were selected participants in the prestigious Fresh Inc. Music Festival by Fifth House Ensemble where they performed for wide national audiences and learned quintessential skills in creating performance business models. Noah was twice selected as principal oboist for the Northwest Intercollegiate Band, and in 2020 was named UM’s Presser Scholar.
Noah has passionately served UM in many roles. During his undergraduate studies, Noah was elected President of the Student Music Union, Senator with the Associated Students of UM, and student body President. In these roles, Noah was a dedicated public servant and fierce advocate for the arts in higher education with a focus on securing infrastructural renovation funding from the State Legislature for the Music Building. After graduating in 2022, Noah was employed at the UM Foundation as an Assistant Director of Development, working with esteemed alumni and donors to raise funds for student scholarships across disciplines.
Currently, Noah remains an engaged oboist, teaching Reed Making and Oboe Methods as adjunct faculty at the school of music, and performs regularly as Oboe 2 and English Horn with Glacier Symphony Orchestra in Kalispell, MT. Since the Fall of 2024, Noah has been a J.D. Candidate with the Alexander Blewett III School of Law, where he continues learning how to serve others utilizing his newfound knowledge of legal practices and political systems.
Noah’s primary teachers include Oboists Melanie Pozdol and Lauren Blackerby between 2013 and 2017, and Dr. Jennifer Cavanaugh, Director of the School of Music, Woodwind Chair, and Tenured Oboe Faculty at UM, from 2017 to date.
Education
Plus Delta
- Certificate, Frontline Fundraising
猎奇重口 (2022)
- B.M., Music (Oboe) Performance
- Minor, Non-profit Administration
- Certificate, Entertainment Management
- University Scholar, Davidson Honors College