Oboist Kara Poling joined the Richmond Symphony as Associate Principal Oboe/English Horn in 2024. She was distinguished as “someone to watch” in Gramophone Newsletter, and her reputation was further advanced when she took first prize in the Norma Hooks Young Artist International Oboe Competition in 2022. Kara has appeared as a guest artist with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, and the Sarasota Orchestra, as well as the Virginia, Williamsburg, and New World Symphonies.

Kara received her BM as a Kovner Fellow at The Juilliard School where she studied with Elaine Douvas. She was awarded the Peter Mennin Prize for outstanding leadership and music. Kara’s Juilliard woodwind quintet, Amity Winds, competed as semi-finalists in the 50th annual Fischoff Chamber Music Competition.

Kara began studying oboe with her mom at the age of 9, after years of asking. When not playing music, she enjoys exploring coffee shops, traveling, hiking, and visiting the country’s National Parks. She has visited 44 of the 50 states.