For many years he played the oboe, though never professionally.
Next to him is a figure playing a soprano or treble shawm, a distant forerunner of the oboe.
He enjoyed playing the saxophone and oboe during high school and now during college.
British Dictionary definitions for oboe
oboe
/ˈəʊbəʊ/
noun
1.
a woodwind instrument of the family that includes the bassoon and cor anglais, consisting of a conical tube fitted with a mouthpiece having a double reed. It has a penetrating nasal tone. Range: about two octaves plus a sixth upwards from B flat below middle C
2.
a person who plays this instrument in an orchestra: second oboe
Archaic form hautboy
Derived Forms
oboist, noun
Word Origin
C18: via Italian oboe, phonetic approximation to French haut bois, literally: high wood (referring to its pitch)
Word Origin and History for oboe
n.
1724, from Italian oboe, from phonetic spelling of Middle French hautbois (itself borrowed in English 16c. as hautboy), from haut "high, loud, high-pitched" (see haught) + bois "wood" (see bush (n.)). So called because it had the highest register among woodwind instruments. Related: Oboist.
oboe in Culture
oboe definition
A woodwind instrument played with a double reed; similar to a bassoon, but pitched higher. Some describe its tone as nasal.
Note: The oboe appears frequently as a solo instrument in symphonies and other kinds of classical music.