HSU Oboist, Rachel Kamradt, Returns December 13th

Oboist Rachel Kamradt [photo by Chuck Johnson at Freak Photos]

The HSU Department of Music, the HSU Wind Ensemble and conductor Paul Cummings are delighted to welcome back music graduate Rachel Kamradt as she performs several solo and ensemble works for oboe, offers a free woodwind master class on campus, and inspires current music students by providing exciting perspectives on life after high school and undergraduate music study.  Three different events will be offered over one weekend and they are all open to the public. Kamradt’s personal and musical development since her graduation from HSU has included study and professional performance work in Tucson, Thailand, and Montreal, as well as teaching English and music in her current home of Kunming, China.  In addition to the music, Kamradt always strives to incorporate the subject of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) along with her artistic work as a musician and educator.

 Rachel Kamradt performing with the Fred Fox Graduate Wind Quintet [photo submitted]

She specializes in crafting great recital programs featuring exceptional classical works composed by people of color, and especially women and non-binary people of color.  She looks forward to sharing her latest discoveries with local audiences, and to participating in the greater dialogue she hopes to inspire by sharing them.

From the greatest hits of the standard repertoire, Kamradt will perform Variations for Oboe and Wind Orchestra by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Astor Piazzola’s Oblivion with the HSU Wind Ensemble on Sunday, December 15th at 2:00 pm.  She will also perform a solo concert in collaboration with past and current HSU music students, a part of the HSU Guest Artist Series, on Monday, December 16th at 8:00 p.m.  The repertoire for this concert will include multiple contemporary works for oboe as well as experimental works including a performance art piece by Brooklyn-based composer inti logan figgis-vizuenta called Music for Chocolate.  To kick off this weekend of musical events, Kamradt will lead a free woodwind master class on Friday, December 13th at 1:00 p.m.  All three events will be held in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus.  Tickets for the Wind Ensemble concert are $10 General, $5 Child, and FREE for HSU Students with ID.  Tickets for the Guest Artist Series concert are $15 General, $5 Child, and $5 for HSU Students with ID.  The woodwind master class is free and open to the public.

Rachel Kamradt is an oboist and music educator based in Kunming, China. Previously the acting assistant principal oboist and English hornist for the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, Ms. Kamradt has also played with the Philippines Philharmonic, Manila Philharmonic, Tucson Symphony, and Eureka Symphony. She was a past member of the Fred Fox Graduate Wind Quintet, who were national finalists in the 2013 MTNA Wind Chamber Music Competition and the ambassador ensemble of the Fred Fox School of Music for a three-week, 12-concert tour in China. She was also a member of Arizona Baroque, with whom she performed at the Festival Alfonso Ortiz Tirado in Alamos, Mexico.

After graduating from HSU, Kamradt went on to receive her master’s degree in oboe performance at University of Arizona. It’s been a wild ride from there! She essentially had a “dream come true” orchestra job with the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra right out of graduate school, playing some amazing repertoire in that group, but orchestral playing wasn’t the right fit for her, and she left after her initial four-month contract.  She moved back to Tucson, and then back home to Southern California before again trying to pursue a traditional music career path, this time by pursuing a doctoral degree at McGill University in Montreal. Again, it just wasn’t the right path and she remembers thinking at the time, “I need to be working closer to people.” This is when one of her many connections led her to teaching English in China.  Ultimately, it didn’t hurt that she studied Mandarin while a student at HSU!

Rachel Kamradt traveling through Tiger Leaping Gorge in Northwest Yunnan Province. It’s a two day trek, so she opted to bring her lighter soprano recorder in lieu of her oboe. [photo submitted]

Kamradt is currently a teacher at the YaGe Community Arts Center, teaching violin, piano, theory, and early childhood music education. Previously she has taught at the i2 Institute of Education, Fillmore Unified School District, Mahidol University, University of Arizona Outreach Band, and at Humboldt State’s Y.E.S. House as the Director of the North Coast Music Mentors. Fascinated by the intersections between music education, music therapy, and racial-environmental justice, she strives towards a community-centered praxis.

Kamradt holds a B.A. in Music from Humboldt State University and an M.M. in oboe performance from the University of Arizona. Her previous teachers include Frederic Beerstein, Virginia Ryder, and Sara Fraker.  She hopes to provide HSU students with a few helpful resources in the short time of her residency. Some of these things include: Lists of affordable summer music opportunities and graduate school assistantships, an opportunity to collaborate with her on one of her recital pieces, and class visits to converse and strategize about post-graduate life.

Event:  Woodwind Master Class with Rachel Kamradt

Date:  Friday, December 13th, 2019

Time:  1:00 p.m.

Price:  Free and open to the public

Event:  HSU Wind Ensemble featuring oboist Rachel Kamradt

Date:  Sunday, December 15, 2019

Time:  2:00 p.m.

Price:  $10 General, $5 Child, FREE for HSU students with ID

Event:  HSU Guest Artist Series Concert:  Rachel Kamradt, oboe

Date:  Monday, December 16, 2019

Time:  8:00 p.m.

Price:  $15 General, $5 Child, $5 for HSU students with ID

Tickets:  Center Arts at 707-826-3928, https://centerarts.humboldt.edu/Online/

Location: Fulkerson Recital Hall, Humboldt State University, Arcata CA 95521

Contact: HSU Department of Music, [email protected]

Photos #1 caption:  Oboist Rachel Kamradt
Photo attribution:  Chuck Johnson at Freak Photos

Photo #2 caption:  Rachel Kamradt performing with the Fred Fox Graduate Wind Quintet

Photo #3 caption:  Rachel Kamradt traveling through Tiger Leaping Gorge in Northwest Yunnan Province.  It’s a two day trek, so she opted to bring her lighter soprano recorder in lieu of her oboe.