Ian Daugherty currently resides and operates as freelance oboist and educator around Cleveland, OH. He is passionate about chamber music of any size or style and enjoys playing in varying spaces from bars and local cafes, to churches, and to more well known spaces like Millenium Park in Chicago and Carnegie Hall in New York City. Being the son of two musicians, he found himself growing up in the footsteps of a soprano and a trumpet player. He is an advocate for the ideas of song and wind while familiar and involved with the many branches of American oboe lineage. 

Mr. Daugherty currently runs an oboe studio around the northeast Ohio area while holding the adjunct oboe faculty position at Cleveland State University. The age range of students he teaches spans from 6th-graders up to and including collegiate level. Having been an oboe student himself from teachers of different ideologies and instrument groups, he emphasizes the importance of allowing music to to be a piece of the individual rather than the driving aspect. He regularly quotes one of his favorite pianists, Arthur Rubenstein: “... you must spend the rest of your time learning about life and love and art and all the other wonderful things in the world. If a young person sits in the practice room all day, what can he possibly have to express in his music?”

No stranger to innovation, Mr. Daugherty has pursued playing in many ensembles. He is currently the principal oboist for the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra in Charleston, WV. He has subbed for The Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Erie Philharmonic, was on the Cleveland Winds' roster and recorded a CD featuring Timothy Reynish, and was the English horn player for the Cleveland Philharmonic performing works like Dvorak's New World Symphony at State Theatre in Playhouse Square. He has been on the roster for the Bellingham Music Festival as an extra in 2019 and a guest artist for a concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City. In 2021, he was given the opportunity to participate in the Taipei Music Association and Festival held in San Francisco at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he performed under Leonard Slatkin with professional musicians such as Jeffrey Khaner, John Bruce Yeh, and Stephen Paulson. In 2022, he took part in the Kent Blossom Music Festival to play in a side-by-side concert with the Cleveland Orchestra, playing Beethoven's fifth symphony under Jahja Ling's baton. 

Mr. Daugherty is an active member of the Kodan Quintet, which was founded as a student group at the beginning of the 2020 pandemic. Currently off the heels of their newly released CD Stories, they have since commissioned and performed pieces Frog’s Tale by Nicky Sohn and Spring Music by Jake Sandridge. Kodan Quintet has placed third in the Music Teachers National Association chamber competition, second in the Coltman Chamber Music Competition, and semi-finals in the Fischoff National Chamber Music competition with music that pushes the boundaries of formal, classical tradition through unique repertoire selection with spoken word performance and choreography. With a woodwind ensemble being a versatile unit, Mr. Daugherty, with Kodan, has given educational presentations to high school students and to younger classes as a Just for U Music Program (JUMP!) associate. He believes chamber music is just as, if not more, important than a traditional orchestra or band experience for the growth and wellness of a musician. 

Mr. Daugherty's work as a soloist won him the Dan Rains Concerto Competition and Kent State Concerto Competition while working on his undergraduate degree. He would continue to explore solo oboe repertoire and found himself placing second in the Tuesday Musical Association Competition in Ohio, who would offer him outreach opportunities regularly. He has represented Kent State University as a solo liaison by performing recitals at benefits, including one for the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs, and functions for the school around the state.

Mr. Daugherty earned his Masters of Music from Robert Atherholt at Rice University and his Bachelors of Music from Danna Sundet at Kent State University. He has been involved in masterclasses and lessons with classical music legends such as Dale Clevenger, Mathieu Dufour, and Larry Combs, as well as oboists Frank Roseinwein, Jeffrey Rathbun, Scott Hostetler, Eugene Isotov, Joe Robinson, and Richard Woodhams.