Ann van Bever, English Horn

Ann van Bever has played English horn in the Columbia Symphony since 2002. She has bachelors and masters degrees in music from Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX) and has a law degree from Marquette University Law School (Milwaukee, WI). After practicing law for 17 years, she returned to her first love, music, and plays the oboe, oboe d'amore and English horn. She currently has a thriving private oboe studio of 15 students and plays in the Bach Cantata Choir Orchestra, Rose City Chamber Orchestra, Double Reed Divas and Alder Street Sextet in addition to CSO. She is an active freelance player throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington, and regularly plays in Vancouver, Newport, Astoria, Eugene and Salem.

Ann and her husband, Peter, are avid supporters of music in Portland. Ann recently completed a two-year term as president of the board of Chamber Music Northwest and Peter is serving on the board of the Portland Opera. Since 1983, she has attended an annual summer chamber music camp in Vermont and in 1997 started a similar chamber music camp in the Columbia River Gorge. In addition to her musical life, Ann also enjoys her job at First Presbyterian Church, where she administers the Celebration Works concert series. Before moving to Portland in 1993, Ann lived in California, Texas, Florida and Wisconsin and was an active musician and supporter of the arts in each of the communities she lived in. In addition to music, she loves food, traveling, reading and word games.