At 18, Skokie oboist Zach Allen is pushing past a stroke and on, he hopes, to a big career

Zach Allen at the oboe — the insturment he hopes will help carry him past the stroke he had this summer and on to a career in music. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere / Sun-Times)

Almost six hours into a rehearsal of Strauss’ lush and bombastic “Ein Heldenleben” at Symphony Center, the conductor halted the playing and gestured toward the young oboist Zachary Allen.

“This whole thing needs to be more angry,” Allen Tinkham, who was at the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra podium, told the 18-year-old. “It’s too pretty.”