Victoria Racz
Presents the 32nd Annual
Saturday, August 15, 2026
First Evangelical Church
4120 NE St Johns Rd
Vancouver, WA 98661​
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MOCK AUDITIONS featuring guest Erin Hannigan (and we'll also do a 'side quest' into how artists can edify their communities through good works!)
Erin Hannigan joined the faculty of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University as Professor of Oboe in the fall of 2025. Previously, she was Principal Oboe of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra from 2001 to 2025 and Adjunct Associate Professor of Oboe at Southern Methodist University from 2002 to 2025.
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Before coming to Dallas, she was a member of the Rochester Philharmonic from 1994 to 2001 and served as a faculty member at the Eastman School of Music. She has been guest Principal Oboist with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony and the St. Louis Symphony. Hannigan makes regular appearances as a woodwind coach at the New World Symphony in Miami, FL. She spends the summer months performing and teaching at summer festivals, including The Strings Festival, Mainly Mozart, National Youth Orchestra (NYO), the Grand Teton Music Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, National Orchestral Institute, and the Gstaad Menuhin Festival (Switzerland).
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Hannigan has recorded three CDs on the Crystal Records label, and also recorded Jeremy Gill’s Serenada Concertante, a piece she commissioned and premiered with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project.
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In addition to her orchestral work, Hannigan is known for her contributions to the community as co-founder of the nonprofit Artists for Animals. She has organized the annual “Concert for Kindness” events in Dallas to support young artists’ involvement in giving back to their communities. The “Concert for Kindness” has raised more than $450,000 for animal rescue organizations. She earned the Ford Award for Excellence in Community Service in 2018, an honor awarded annually to five musicians through the League of American Orchestras and the Ford Motor Company.
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Hannigan is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory where she studied with James Caldwell. She received her master’s degree, the prestigious Performer’s Certificate, and the 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Eastman School of Music, where she was a student of Richard Killmer.
Our evening concert is Saturday, August 15 at 7:30 at First Evangelical Church in Vancouver, WA.
Our program will include a variety of musical styles, soloists, and ensembles and will also feature our guest, Erin Hannigan.
Tickets are $15 and available at the door.
There will be a reception following the concert and some of our sponsors will be sending some products (and oboes!). Our sponsors are MCW Woodwinds. RDG Woodwinds, Jones Double Reed Products, Midwest Musical Imports, and introducing NEW sponsor, Crystal Records! Erin Hannigan has recorded 3 albums with Crystal, and CDs will be available for purchase at the concert reception. (Crystal is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2026, by the way!)
Fox Products will also send some oboes and products through our wonderful local dealer, Music World.
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Our seminar is designed for high school, collegiate and adult oboists, and this is a day-long seminar devoted to all aspects of oboe performance with a different focus each year. For participants the day includes a solo master class (with pianist), instrument maintenance and repair, ensemble playing, dinner, and an evening concert featuring all seminar participants and staff.
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The participation fee is $125. This includes evening meal, "Reed Tips Clinic" with Brent Hages, Seminar T-shirt, accompanist (if needed), and minor repairs/mini workshop by Mark Chudnow. Application deadline for participants is July 31. Due to the large number of applicants and the limited number of openings, new applicants will be requested to submit a recent video clip to demonstrate their playing ability.
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Auditor fee is $40. Auditors do not need to pre-register and may pay at the door. They will attend the afternoon class with our guest from 2:30 - 4:00 (times are approximate), and also receive a ticket for the evening performance at 7:30 pm. Entry will be through the main, front doors of the church. Auditors, please have your $40 cash or checks ready (made out to the Northwest Oboe Seminar), and be sure to pick up your concert ticket! (An accompanying parent/guardian for any minors 6th grade and under will not be charged an auditor fee.) We should also have an option for Square payment.
Any auditors wanting suggestions for what to do in-between the time of the class and the concert may contact me (Victoria) for recommendations. I have a list of suggestions! (I generally post the list on the door of the master class room on the day of the event.)
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Any prospective participants or auditors who are on free or reduced school lunch, or have suffered a recent verifiable calamity should contact Victoria to see if we have financial assistance available, especially those who have participated previously.
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​Application:
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Participant payment (or donations!):
We are a 501(c)3 organization.
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(This PayPal button says 'Donate', but it is the correct place to make your Seminar payment!)
​Seminar History Page (Click to go to that page)
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SEMINAR STAFF: (Click on any name to go to Bios page)
Victoria Racz, Seminar Director
Kathy Stockwell-Riemann, Seminar Assistant
Brent Hages, Reed Tips Clinician/Seminar Assistant
Kahayla Rapolla, Bassoonist
Kathy Edsill-Charles, Seminar Pianist
Mark Chudnow, Seminar Instrument Technician (confirmation still pending)
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Northwest Oboe Seminar Sponsors:
https://www.mcwoboe.com/
https://www.rdgwoodwinds.com/
http://www.jonesdoublereed.com/
https://www.mmimports.com/​​​
® CRYSTAL RECORDS INC.
Northwest Oboe Seminar Internship Program!!
Our second Seminar Intern was Lillian Edgren!
Lillian Edgren began her musical career in August of 2019, at the age of nine, with the introduction of the violin. In the fall of 2020, as she entered her 5th grade year of school, during the height of the pandemic, she was required to choose an instrument for school band that she would be having to learn to play online. Of all the instruments to choose from, Lilly chose the oboe, without any knowledge of the instrument, solely based on her liking of the name. But, as with everything that Lilly chooses to do, she has skillfully and beautifully conquered many obstacles in her training of the oboe, with much dedication from Lilly, as well as her private instructor, Victoria Racz, whom she has studied under for close to a year now. As she has entered her freshman year of high school, Lilly is now the principal oboist of the school’s advanced band. Through her high school program, she is currently carrying the spirts of students and spectators at the Friday night football games, where you can hear her play the saxophone in the high school pep band. Lillian also performs, as an oboist, with the Portland Youth Conservatory Orchestra, a part of the Portland Youth Philharmonic. She began with PYP in their Centennial Year as a member of the Portland Youth Wind Ensemble, as well as the Conservatory. She has begun the 101st season with PYP this fall and is enjoying learning the delicate time changes of Mahler’s 10th Symphony. Along with with her passion for music, Lillian also has a very strong writers voice that can be heard in the three novels that she is simultaneously writing, each one separate but intertwined within the realm of the universe that she has created in her mind’s eye. Lilly also enjoys creating the characters of her books through various artistic mediums.
Our Seminar Intern will observe throughout the day, and will perform in the morning master class IF time allows. They will also rehearse and perform with our large ensemble for the evening concert!
Those that wish to apply for 2026 should contact Victoria directly!
This program is intended for a middle school oboist. The applicant should send an email telling about themselves and their music experiences, and please fill out the participant application as well. Please include links to one or two videos that show playing ability (the videos do not need to be public performances). Please have your private music teacher and/or band director e-mail a brief recommendation.
Everything is due by July 31, 2026.
The information will be sent out to our seminar staff, and we will all vote for the winning candidate if any are chosen for that year. Notifications will be sent out the first week of August. (No cost to apply, and the seminar fee for the intern will be $50.)
