Mary Kausek’s playing has been described as “beguiling,” “stunningly beautiful,” and “gorgeous”

Testimonials & Reviews

  • “Mary Kausek is a deeply cultured, expressive and intelligent player and pedagogue. Equally at home on both oboe and English horn, she is a born teacher brimming with inquisitive joy about all aspects of our craft. I have long valued her as both colleague and friend and truly admire her teaching.”

    Robert Walters, Solo English Horn of the Cleveland Orchestra, Professor of Oboe and English Horn at the Oberlin Conservatory

  • "Mary Kausek is a fantastic oboist who exhibits all you want in an artist—charisma, beauty of sound, and a bold personality. She is also intuitive and practical which makes her an ideal teacher, particularly of young people. I have worked with several of her students and have been impressed with their poise, flexibility and musicality."

    Frank Rosenwein, Principal Oboe of the Cleveland Orchestra

  • "Mary Kausek Muse is a wonderful oboe teacher. My daughter adores her and looks forward to her lessons. Mary is a working musician who has high expectations for her students. She not only knows the instrument at the level of a concert performer but has a gift for teaching and is able share her approaches and insights in a way that make difficult concepts understandable. My daughter has achieved much in just four years of lessons with Mary, earning music camp scholarships and joining an all-city wind symphony and the upper-level high school wind ensemble."

    Laura Putre

  • "Mary has had a phenomenal impact on my musical studies. With her guidance and support, I was able to achieve many milestones including gaining acceptance into various youth orchestras and summer festivals. Her attention to detail and focus on technique have allowed me to hone my skills and perform at my best, even in high pressure situations. She also prepared me exceptionally well for college auditions, which I am immensely grateful for. I cannot thank her enough for the countless hours of instruction and encouragement she has provided!"

    Yiyang Fu, Former Student

  • "Mary has been an incredible mentor and guide through my daughter’s musical journey. Under her guidance, my daughter has achieve remarkable success. The dedication and commitment from Mary has ensured that my daughter would reach her full potential. We are immensely grateful for the positive impact Mary had on my daughter’s musical career and cannot recommend her highly enough"

    Chunlei Guo

  • "Mary is a strong player who comes to our craft with intelligence, imagination and a tireless work ethic. A terrific colleague who would make a great contribution to any ensemble or teaching situation."

    John Ferrillo, Principal Oboist of The Boston Symphony

  • "I have been Mary’s private student since I was in 6th grade, for the past seven years. The oboe has changed my life, but under the expert guidance of Mary, I have improved and reached new levels that I didn’t even think were possible. I have found that her teaching style has been perfect for myself at every age and experience level. As a young middle school student, I found her to be encouraging and accepting, and it was easy to make leaps in my oboe career as my interest and passion in the art blossomed. As I progressed to higher levels of playing in late middle school and throughout high school, she became more strict (still keeping my best interests in mind), pushing me with a defined weekly schedule that kept me on task and focused. I admire her ability to create the perfect lesson plan -- one that is filled with work on fundamentals, repertoire, and of course, humor. Mary’s teaching has helped me become a member of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, be accepted into the Ohio All-State Orchestra, and earn a spot in the Interlochen Orchestra Program (among other things). Even now as I begin to take college auditions, I have found her presence to be inherent to my success, and I know that my life would be completely different had I never met her!"

    Sophie Craciun

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"Mary Kausek presented her three stunningly beautiful solos with great flair and expression.  The other two themes in minor tonalities were equally gorgeous.”

—Robert Rollin, ClevelandClassical.com

“The concert opened with Rossini’s fun Overture to L’Italiana in Algeri. Principal oboe Mary Kausek brought a wonderfully lithe touch to her solo in the slow introduction.”

—David Kulma, ClevelandClassical.com

“Mary Kausek played the deceptively simple solo that opens the Adagio with admirable tone and supple phrasing, a nice counterpart to Shoji's generous reading of this songlike romance.”

—Mark Satola, The Plain Dealer, in reference to Brahms Violin Concerto with Sayaka Shoji