Victoria Racz, B.M., M.M., was the principal oboist, featured soloist, and General Manager of the Oregon Chamber Players for the complete existence of the ensemble (1995-2014). She played principal oboe and was a soloist twice with the Newport Symphony (from 1995 – 2011), and has played oboe and English horn with Columbia Symphony, American Metropole Orchestra, Oregon Symphony, 45th Parallel, and principal oboe with other groups in the region, including the Oregon Chorale, ISing Choir, Portland Phoenix Choirs, and Vancouver Master Chorale.  She is principal oboist with the Portland Festival Symphony, Portland Summerfest Opera, and is also the oboist with the Con Grazia Wind Quintet, the OCP Quartet, Sirens Trio, Double Reed Divas, and Trio Adrato. She has performed with a diverse range of artists including performers such as Jane Siberry, Roberta Flack, Martha Reeves, Kurt Elling, and Jessye Norman. In August of 2020 she won the one-year principal oboe position with Portland’s Columbia Symphony for their 2020-’21 Season while their regular principal takes a sabbatical.

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 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, and Newport Symphony. From 1993 to 2000 she was the oboe professor at Marylhurst University in Oregon, and she was hired as oboe professor at Clark College, Washington, in 2022.

Several compositions have been written or arranged specifically for her by such composers/musicians as Dr. Matt Doran, Norman Leyden, Ray Pizzi, Jean Chatillon, and Timoteus Racz.
 

Seattle based oboist Brent Hages, received his formal training at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Temple University, studying with James B. Caldwell, Alfred Genovese and Louis Rosenblatt. Brent performs with most of the professional orchestras in the Pacific Northwest, including appearances with Mimi Hines, Idina Menzel, Il Divo, Celtic Woman, Andrea Bocelli, Johnny Mathis, and Evanescence. Past national tours of Wicked, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and Porgy and Bess. He regularly records with the Northwest Sinfonia Orchestra for movie and television scores- the most recent release of The Lumber Baron; video games (Diablo III, Destiny, Planetary Annihilation, World of Warcraft series) and with the Seattle Film Institute. Formerly affiliated with Central Washington University, Cornish College of the Arts, and Seattle Pacific University as Adjunct Instructor of Oboe. Aside from performing, he spends his time with his Whippet dogs, collecting vintage recordings, and has collected and restored the instruments of his former teachers that were used throughout their careers.

A versatile soloist, arranger, and accompanist, Colleen Adent began her formal musical training at the age of four.  She received a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Biola University, where she was twice named Outstanding Pianist of the Year. She has studied with Harold Gray, Artistic Director of Portland Piano International, Lina Baranov of Moscow Conservatory and Cathy Kautsky of Lawrence University. Colleen has performed with the Oregon Chamber Players, Professional Christian Wind Ensemble, Sapporo Philharmonic Orchestra, and Newport Symphony, under the direction of Norman Leyden.  She has appeared as a guest soloist with Oregon Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, Newport Symphony, Jewish Symphony Orchestra, and with the Westwood Wind Quintet. She has enjoyed collaborating with both locally and internationally known artists such as classical saxophonist Harvey Pittel, and Robert Hale of the New York Metropolitan Opera. She is the pianist for Trio Adrato along with oboist/oboe d'amore/English horn player Victoria Racz, and cellist Dale Tolliver. Colleen was named a quarterfinalist in the 2016 Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition. She makes regular appearance on Snowman Foundation’s Ten Grands with Michael Allen Harrison as a performer and arranger. Collaborative playing as well as solo appearances have taken her throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia.
We are thrilled that Colleen will be returning to our Seminar!

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, 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 Beaverton.  He has served as a repair tech with the Northwest Oboe Seminar for several years, and often performs with our ensembles for our evening concert.

Established in 1984, Mark Chudnow Woodwinds has been a leading innovator in the design and development of double reed products since its inception. Mark started as a repairman in 1980 and is one of only a handful of Americans trained at the F. Lorée factory in France! He brought to the business an understanding and creativity not formerly found in the field. Mark quickly brought to fruition some of the many ideas he had developed in his years of talking and listening to musicians' complaints involving instruments and accessories. Among the innovative improvements are the CA and the Sierra line of staples. The CAs are the first line of staples to be consistent, seamless and chamfered. Mark's English Horn and Oboe d'amore bocals are also noteworthy. Each one is constructed with a "tenon cork" at the tip, insuring greater airtightness and security than any other bocal on the market.  Extremely popular among reedmakers throughout the world are the precision MCW hollow ground knives. On a whimsical note, Mark's introduction of colorful swabs has brightened the otherwise black or brown world of double reed accessories. In 1990, the Sierra oboe was introduced as a natural extension of Mark's skills and interest. Debuting in 1991, the MCW Oboe represents Mark's endeavor to provide an oboe of professional quality at an affordable price. Designed for the intermediate to advanced level student, the MCW oboe truly represents handcrafted excellence for the serious student. Mark's first presentation at the Northwest Oboe Seminar was in 2000 with his topic, Secrets of Oboe Making! MCW has been a Seminar sponsor since 1995 and has been our repair tech for the past several years.