Victoria Racz, B.M., M.M., has performed throughout the United States in professional ensembles on oboe and English horn and as a recitalist, competition winner and soloist. Since 1995 she has been the principal oboist with both the Oregon Chamber Players (www.oregonchamberplayers.org and with the Newport Symphony Orchestra (http://www.newportsymphony.org). She has played principal oboe with the Columbia Symphony, Vancouver Symphony and other groups, and has played oboe and English horn with the Oregon Symphony. She is also oboist with the Con Grazia Wind Quintet, the OCP Quartet (oboe/EH and strings), Sirens Trio (flute, oboe/EH & piano), and Double Reed Divas. She is the Co-founder, General Manager and primary wind coach for the Junior Symphony of Vancouver, and is in demand throughout the Northwest as a teacher and adjudicator. She is a frequent guest on AllClassical 89.9 FM and has been featured as a live performer on-air. She has written program notes and/or presented concert talks with organizations such as the Oregon Chamber Players, Junior Symphony of Vancouver, Portland's Columbia Symphony, Newport Symphony, and Vancouver Symphony. Through her annual Seminar, the Northwest Oboe Seminar (www.oregonchamberplayers.org/OboeSeminar), she has worked and performed with several world-renowned artists including Humbert Lucarelli, Allen Vogel, Nancy Rumbel and John Mack, among others. Several compositions have been written or arranged specifically for her by such composers/musicians as Dr. Matt Doran, Norman Leyden, Ray Pizzi, Jean Chatillon, Robert Broemel and George Kostopoulos. Her husband is violinist, composer and conductor Timoteus Racz http://www.raczeuropeanviolins.com

 
              Kathy & Victoria   
 

  Kathy Stockwell-Riemann

  Kathy in front of Jones Double Reed Product's table at Seminar reception

Ann Crandall

Ann Crandall began her bassoon career at age 12 in 7^th grade band. Band, and then orchestra, was so much fun, she stayed with the bassoon in spite of reed and repair woes. After high school there was a B.A. and a B.Mus. at University of Washington, a seven year stint in Tucson Symphony, Arizona Opera, and the faculty of University of Arizona, then off to graduate school at SUNY Stony Brook. As a student of Arthur Weisberg, Ms Crandall earned master's and doctorate degrees and won the Sunwood Performance Award. Since moving to Vancouver, WA, Ms Crandall has served on the faculties of Willamette University and Portland State University, and has been a busy freelancer performing with all the major metro area ensembles while maintaining a private studio of bassoon students. She is currently Principal Bassoon with Portland Opera, the Oregon Chamber Players and Con Grazia Wind Quintet, an active chamber musician, and an instructor at Clark College.                   

Maria Manzo

Pianist and Conductor Maria Manzo became our Seminar accompanist in 2008, and is co-founder and Music Director of the Bravo! Vancouver Concert Series. (www.bravoconcerts.com) Dr. Manzo has been Director of Music at St. Joseph Church in Vancouver, Washington since 1993 where she directs four choirs and is the Parish Pianist & Organist. The St. Joseph Parish Choir has released three CD recordings under her direction, including:  Then Sings My Soul; Hallelujah! A St. Joseph Christmas, and;  Songs in the Key of Faith. In 1997, the Parish Choir toured Italy, singing concerts the Basilicas in Venice, Assisi, Florence, and at the Vatican for Pope John Paul II.  In 2001, Dr. Manzo’s Parish Choir and the Bravo! Chorale were invited to perform at the 25th Annual National Pastoral Musician’s Conference in Washington D.C., collaborating with the New Washingtons Jazz Orchestra (Duke Ellington School of the Arts) in an East Coast tour which culminated at Alice Tully Hall in New York.  The Bravo! Chorale recently released the CD recording, Hear My Prayer: The American Spiritual under her direction. It features classic & contemporary American Spirituals, including the Sacred Cantata, composed by Bravo’s Artistic Director, Dr. Michael Kissinger.  On the International scene, since 2007, Dr. Manzo has performed regularly as both a Concert Pianist and Guest Conductor with the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra (DSO) in Dubrovnik, Croatia.  Recent performances have included the Beethoven Triple Concerto (pianist), and the Mozart Clarinet Concerto (conductor).  In October 2008, she co-conducted the Bravo! Chorale and the DSO in a Pacific Northwest tour with performances in Vancouver/Portland, Tacoma, Edmonds and Seattle at the CroatiaFest at Seattle Center.  In June of 2009, Dr. Manzo will co-conduct the Bravo! Chorale and the DSO throughout Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina.  The tour will feature both Croatian and American folk music and spirituals.  Dr. Manzo is recognized for her extensive scholarship on the American Negro Spiritual, and is an authority on the music of composer and arranger Jester Hairston, composer of Amen and other well-known spirituals.  She is also the Festival Director for the Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival, which has featured such grammy-winning musicians as Melissa Manchester, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Kenny Loggins, Chuck Mangione, and others.  From 1989-93, Dr. Manzo was Assistant Professor of Choral Music at North Carolina Wesleyan College. She received her B.A. and Master of Music degrees from Eastern Washington University and her Doctorate of Arts degree from the University of Northern Colorado. She can be heard performing throughout the Northwest as the pianist in the SIRENS Trio - www.oregonchamberplayers.org.

Fred Korman incorporates his unique background and varied talents, along with his passion for people and performance, in his achievements as a nationally acclaimed leader of workshops on the "Psychology of Performance"; as a renowned oboist; and in his private counseling practice.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Mr. Korman maintains a private counseling practice in Portland where he sees adults in individual counseling. In addition, Mr. Korman presents master classes and workshops at major universities and music festivals around the United States for performers of all levels and mediums focusing on the psychology of performance. The uniqueness of his combined expertise allows him to provide a richness of experience both as a therapist and a musician.

Mr. Korman's training includes undergraduate work in psychology. He is currently a member of the Portland Gestalt Institute led by Dr. Jeffrey Sher, PhD, and Carol Swanson, LCSW. Among his most recent engagements are workshops at the University of Washington, University of Nevada at Las Vegas, and the International Gestalt Therapy Seminar in Siena, Italy.

The Principal Oboist with the Oregon Symphony since 1978, Mr. Korman is a frequent soloist in the Northwest. He has received critical praise for his "flawless playing", "tour-de-force" performances and "lyric flair". His performances of George Rochberg's Oboe Concerto with the Oregon Symphony drew robust approval from music critics who said: "Korman played passionately . . . his oboe rang clear and true" (The Columbian) and "He cleanly etched Rochberg's mournful and erratic themes . . . against the score's constantly shifting patterns" (The Oregonian). His playing in the critically acclaimed Oregon Symphony recording of Strauss' Don Juan was praised by the CD Review.

Before beginning his tenure with the Oregon Symphony, Mr. Korman held positions with the New Orleans and Hartford Symphony Orchestras. In addition to his recordings with the Oregon Symphony, Mr. Korman has recorded both classical and jazz on labels including Delos, Opus One, Koch, and a premier recording of the Wind Quartet by Gieseking on the Centaur label. He has participated as Principal Oboist in music festivals including Tanglewood, Chamber Music Northwest, Peter Britt, Centrum, Shenandoah Valley, Festival of the Amalfi Coast (Italy) and the Saint Barthelemey Music Festival (French West Indies).

Aside from performing, Mr. Korman enjoys a successful teaching career, having held positions at the Hartt College of Music, Loyola University, University of New Orleans, Lewis and Clark College and Portland State University. He is currently on the faculty of Oregon State University in Corvallis. He has twice been a guest artist for the Northwest Oboe Seminar and has often served as guest clinician during the Seminar for reeds and reedmaking tips. 

 Pablo Izquierdo (on left) , Seminar Oboe Maintenance & Repair Technician

Pablo Izquierdo received a masters degree in performance from University of Victoria, B.C.  He played for 20  years with the Portland Opera, and currently performs with the Portland Chamber Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, Portland Festival Symphony and the Walla Walla Symphony.  He has studied oboe repair with Tom Hiniker, is an adjunct faculty member at Reed College, and has a private oboe studio in Vancouver and Beaverton.

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