Oboe in Hues, the debut album by Nermis Mieses, is a testament to the oboist’s passion for exploring repertoire and, in this case, championing the works of the esteemed French oboist-composer Gilles Silvestrini.
Her journey with Silvestrini’s music has been transformative, pushing the boundaries of her playing and performance skills. The result is an album highlighting Mieses’ exceptional talent and dedication to the oboe repertoire.
“Gilles Silvestrini is highly regarded in the oboe literature because he is an oboist himself. His repertoire for the oboe is respected for being technically demanding, but I also regard it as intellectually captivating since Silvestrini is often composing portrayals of poetry and paintings. As a performer, this has opened my creativity to new levels,” Mieses explained.
In February 2025, Nermis Mieses continued pursuing her goal of performing in all of the venues at MSU with a recital in the MSU Alumni Memorial Chapel. It featured Hae Won Jang on the Red Cedar Organ as well as trumpeter Justin Emerich, both of the MSU Music faculty.
Her connection to Silvestrini’s work began with her admiration for his Six Etudes, which she found both technically challenging and spiritually enriching.
I have only corresponded with Silvestrini via email and learned about him through colleagues who describe him as a kind and spiritual person. He composed Horae Volubiles while retreating in a monastery and created other pieces while immersing himself in nature,” she said. “Even before knowing these details, I always felt a deep connection to his music. Some may say his compositions have ‘a lot of notes,’ but to me, they are filled with essence. I find myself meditating through the movement of the notes.”
Nermis Mieses, right, is assistant professor of oboe at the MSU College of Music. She maintains a full and active studio since arriving at the university in 2023
Since “falling in love” with Silvestrini’s solo oboe repertoire, Mieses felt driven to invite students to explore this challenging and rewarding music. She said she saw how studying these etudes brought technical fluency to her playing and a new dimension to her interpretation in terms of colors and textures.
“After immersing myself in his music and seeing how it had pushed the boundaries of my playing and performing skills, I then wanted to record it as an invitation for students to be drawn to explore it as well and to experience this new territory for the instrument,” Mieses said.
Silvestrini himself has expressed his admiration for Mieses’ dedication and artistry. He has called her technique “remarkable,” and said of her recordings of his works that she has a “sonic imagination that lets us hear their specific atmospheres.”
Silvestrini also described the overall challenge of recordings Oboe in Hues as “a superhuman challenge,” and his support throughout the project has been invaluable to Mieses.
“It has meant the world to me to have received the support of Gilles Silvestrini throughout the project. His humble interactions were the epitome of the lessons I learned. He writes out-of-this-world music for the oboe yet doesn’t draw any attention to himself. Instead, he takes on an empowering role towards the performer,” Mieses shared. “I have performed this repertoire during past recitals and during past International Double Reed Society Conferences. For example, 2018 in Granada, Spain, and last summer in Flagstaff, Arizona, where I was honored to get to perform the USA premiere of a piece for oboe and orchestra, Aloe, by the same composer.”
Mieses has a distinguished career as a versatile performer of oboe literature from the Baroque period to the 21st century. She has received numerous accolades, including prizes at the prestigious Barbirolli International Oboe Competition, the First International Oboe Competition in Santa Catarina, Brazil, the Paul Boyland Alumni Award of The University of Michigan, among others. Committed to excellence, Mieses now dedicates part of her career to teaching a dynamic oboe studio at MSU and serving as adjudicator for national and international competitions.
“Nermis Mieses is the very first artist to record a large part of my work for solo oboe,” Silvestrini said. “The extreme complexity and variety of all these pieces, spanning 40 years, represent a colossal task for a performer and constitute an exceptional challenge. I would like to warmly thank and congratulate Nermis Mieses for her remarkable artistic performance.”
