BOSTON, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Ralph Gomberg, one of the top oboists in the United States and a fixture of the Boston Symphony's woodwind section for 37 years, has died at 85.
Gomberg died last weekend at a hospice in Wayland, Mass., of primary lateral sclerosis, a neuromuscular disease better known as Lou Gehrig's disease, said his wife of 58 years, Sydelle Silver Gomberg.
Gomberg played with the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1950 to 1987.
He taught at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore; the New England Conservatory; Boston University and the Berkshire Music Center. Many of his former students are principal oboists of U.S. symphony orchestras, the Boston Globe said.
Gomberg was born in Boston's West End, the youngest of seven children. Several of them were as musically talented as he was and also played professionally.
He used to joke that it would be daunting to find a quiet room in which to practice.
Gombenrg is survived by his wife, three daughters and seven grandchildren.
