Kenneth Dilks
A Rowan CMS Alumni Spotlight
Kenneth Dilks' Biography
Kenneth Dilks is an oboist who resides in Washington Township, New Jersey and a 2021 graduate of Rowan University. While at Rowan, Mr. Dilks won Rowan's Concerto Competition and was a recipient of Rowan's Presser Scholar award. Kenneth studied with Frank Rosenwein (Cleveland Symphony Orchestra), Harald Horth (Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra), and John Symer.
A native of south Jersey, Kenneth was a student of Rowan's Community Music School as a high school student. He took lessons with Dr. Mark Snyder and played in Rowan's Youth Orchestra for four years before attending Rowan University. Kenneth looks forward to growing the oboe studio at Rowan's Community Music School and working in the building that had a large impact on his musical career. Kenneth is an elementary general music teacher at Mary F. Janvier Elementary School in Franklinville, NJ.
Q&A with Kenneth Dilks
- Career after Rowan CMS?
- Career Prep at Rowan CMS?
- Favorite Memory of Rowan CMS/RYO?
- Years you participated in RYO?
- Who did you study with?
- Fun Fact?
- Advice for someone pursuing music?
Career after Rowan CMS?
- After being a student of Rowan CMS, I became a music teacher. I teach elementary school music at Mary F. Janvier Elementary School in Franklinville, NJ. I have been there for about a month now and it has been an amazing job so far. Before that I was covering a maternity leave position at Center City Elementary School in Mantua, NJ. I also work for Rowan Community Music School as an oboe teacher and the Assistant Conductor of Rowan Youth Orchestra. It has been an amazing experience to be a part of CMS as a student for 4 years, to be a student of the university for 4 years, and now to work back there.
Career Prep at Rowan CMS?
- My time at Rowan CMS and RYO helped me prepare to be a music major, the lessons I took helped me continue to grow on an individual basis and playing with the youth orchestra prepared me to play with other people and in larger ensembles. This also help me discover how much I love to play in a large group such as an orchestra.
Favorite Memory of Rowan CMS/RYO?
- My favorite memories from CMS were playing duets with my oboe teacher, Mark Snyder at the end of each lesson. My favorite memories of RYO were playing great repertoire and getting opportunities to play with university students, which overall influenced me to go to Rowan for college, because I had already made some friends.
Years you participated in RYO?
- 2014-2017 for a total of 8 semesters.
Who did you study with?
- I studied with Dr. Mark Snyder for 4 years before coming to Rowan in CMS, and then for 4 years at Rowan University.
Fun Fact?
- I really enjoy travelling, there are so many places I want to visit. My craziest one is probably Antarctica, I know it's expensive and going to be really cold, but I would love to make that trip happen one day.
Advice for someone pursuing music?
- My advice for someone pursuing music is to just find opportunities to play, whether it be an ensemble to join like RYO, your band at school, or playing in an honors band like All South Jersey, there are a lot of things you can do that actually go a long way and are fun to be a part of.