Biography
Luca Ortolani is a Canadian oboist recognized for his thoughtful musicianship and versatility across solo, orchestral, and chamber settings. He has performed with ensembles including the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Kentucky Symphony, the Tianjin Symposium Festival Orchestra, the Music Academy of the West Festival Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and l’Orchestre de la Francophonie.
Luca has had the privilege of performing under the baton of several esteemed conductors, namely Esa-Pekka Salonen, Stéphane Denève, Alexander Shelley, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Sascha Goetzel, Christopher Larkin and Uri Mayer. His playing is heard on releases such as Borealis (2022) and Ichmouratov; Overtures/Symphony (2020) and Aurora (2023).
As a soloist, he has recently performed works such as Vivaldi’s Double Oboe Concerto and Vaughan Williams’ Oboe Concerto, as well as solo recitals in Ottawa, Toronto, Cincinnati and Los Angeles.
Equally at home in chamber music, Luca has been featured in concert series including the Colburn Chamber Music Society, the Next Generation Series with Concert Nova, The Bach Ensemble at St. Thomas, Ottawa Chamberfest, and the Kingston Road Brandenburg Project.
He is grateful to have received several distinctions in support of his artistic growth; among these are the 2025 Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award, the 2024 National Arts Centre Orchestra Bursary, the 2024 Sturdevant Prize for Orchestra Excerpts, the 2022 Louise Schaefer Wilshire Scholarship (University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music), and the 2022 Vic Pomer Award from the National Arts Centre Orchestra Bursary Competition. He was also named on CBC’s “30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30” list in 2024.
Luca completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto studying with Sarah Jeffrey and earned his Master’s at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Titus Underwood. Luca is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at The Colburn School in Los Angeles, where he studies with Eugene Izotov.
