Camden Christenson Ward is an oboist of the greater Boston area with his roots based in coastal New Hampshire. Having pursued a liberal arts undergraduate education, Camden likes incorporating aspects of life into music and vice versa via teaching, sharing, and performing as a soloist, and member of ensembles and the community alike. He is a strong believer that music is a language that communicates unlike any other and wishes to extend that attribute to other domains—especially the world of food and drink.
He loves the aspects of communion related to making music with others. As a member of the Essex Ensemble, principal of the Velvet Pastures Wind Ensemble, chamber musician, soloist, and freelancer, he feels fortunate to play a diverse range of music. Some of his recent invitations to collaborate have included the Maine State Ballet Orchestra, Streetlight Manifesto, Boston University’s Symphony Orchestra, the Lowell Chamber Orchestra, and the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra.
Likewise, he gets to play throughout the world and primarily the Greater Boston Area at locations such as Merril Auditorium, Cité de la Musique in Paris, Sanders Theatre, the Maudslay Arts Center, and Symphony Hall. As a soloist, during his sophomore year of high school and at UNH, he won the Dino Anagnost Youth Symphony Orchestra of New Hampshire 2014 Concerto Competition and UNH’s 2017 Concerto and Aria competition respectively.
Camden graduated summa cum laude from the University of New Hampshire in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance and French studying the oboe with Margaret Herlehy along with Nora Cismondi and Philippe Grauvogel during his time spent studying abroad in France. He finished a Master of Music in Performance in 2022 primarily studying with Andrew Price at Boston University’s School of Music. He also followed an oboe studio course with and was coached in a chamber ensemble by Mark McEwen. Having done independent studies in ear training during his time at UNH, he asked to teach aural skills at BU for two years, focusing on ear training, dictation, and sight-singing—its weekly courses often being some of his weeks’ high points. He still occasionally substitutes for BU’s School of Music. During the academic year of 2022–23 he was asked to return to UNH as a Resident Artist of Oboe and continues to teach oboe privately and at various institutions including New England Conservatory at their Summer Orchestra Institute.
The diversity that these university educations provided him allowed for practice in research, the pursuit of interdisciplinary subjects, and other interests outside of music like his for food and beverage. In turn, he continues to learn, share, and combine these interests by connecting with coworkers, regulars, and newbies alike working at Krasi - Meze & Wine in the Back Bay of Boston—a spot home to the nation’s largest selection of exclusively Greek wine and home to recent James Beard finalist Executive Chef, Valentine Howell. He is working towards creating a new casual music and taste-pairing experience with the city’s restaurants, breweries, chefs, servers, lounges, cafes, bartenders, beverage directors, and sommeliers.