Price was principal oboe for the Boston Pops at its Fourth of July Celebration on the Boston Esplanade this year, and for the viewing community, Price was front and center about a dozen times as the television cameras panned the orchestra. “This was my first concert on the Esplanade,” Price said. Price’s passion for playing the oboe began when he was a student in Ipswich, Mass. He said it was his teacher there who introduced him to Beethoven, and then Bach.

When his family moved to Hampton in 1976, he had the privilege of playing for veteran Winnacunnet music director Stan Bednarz. When Price chose Boston University after high school, he was on a mission. “The reason I went to BU was for the oboe teacher there,” Price said. For the next eight years, Price studied under Ralph Gomberg, who was also principal oboe of the Boston Symphony. In 1995, Price became Gomberg’s assistant at Tanglewood, in Lenox, Mass.

“He was the Oboe Master, coaching woodwinds,” Price said. Price was a sub with the BSO, when, in the summer of 2004, he was hired to tour with the Pops. Price can readily recall the cities he has toured with conductor Keith Lockhart and the Pops. August of 2006, for instance, was spent touring Cleveland; Chicago; New York City; Washington, D.C.; Tanglewood; Philadelphia; and, Boston.

In 2007, it was Nantucket; Martha’s Vineyard; Cohasset; Hyannis (Mass.); the Poconos; Guilford, N.H.; Philadelphia; and, Washington D.C. One of his most memorable performances was as back-up for Natalie Cole, the daughter of legendary singer Nat King Cole, at Martha’s Vineyard. “She’s just incredible,” Price said. “She’s such a good musician.” Another thrill was being in the company of renowned Italian singer Andrea Bocelli.