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Home › People › Directory › Sara Fraker

Sara Fraker

Associate Professor, Music

Music Bldg, Room 242

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, DMA 2009
New England Conservatory, MM 2002
Swarthmore College, BA 1999

Sara Fraker is Associate Professor of Oboe at the University of Arizona and a member of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. She spends her summers in residence as a Faculty Artist at the Bay View Music Festival in northern Michigan. She is principal oboist of True Concord Voices & Orchestra and a featured soloist on their two recent album releases, one of which garnered two Grammy nominations.

Sara is currently engaged in a diverse array of creative projects. In 2021, she commissioned Australian composer Lachlan Skipworth to create a piece for reed trio and electronics, inspired by tree-ring data and the climate crisis. The piece will be premiered in December 2021 at the UArizona Laboratory for Tree-Ring Research. The recipient of a 2020 UArizona Production Grant, Sara is working with an interdisciplinary faculty group to bring this project to fruition. She is also producing a world-premiere recording of the woodwind music of ultramodernist composer Johanna M. Beyer (1888-1944) for New World Records, with new print editions for Frog Peak Music. In March 2022, Sara will premiere an exciting new commission for oboe and piano by composer S. Maggie Polk Olivo, entitled White Sand & Gray Sand.

Sara was awarded a 2017 Artist Research and Development Grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts for a solo commissioning and recording project, in collaboration with composer Asha Srinivasan and ecologist Robin Wall Kimmerer. The resulting piece, Braiding, was featured on CBC Radio in 2020. An advocate for interdisciplinary creative work, she recently joined the affiliated faculty of UArizona’s Institutes for Resilience: Solutions for the Environment and Society (AIR).

With pianist Casey Robards, Sara released the album BOTANICA: music for oboe & English horn on MSR Classics in 2019. She has also recorded for Naxos, Summit Records, Toccata Classics, Analekta, and Reference Recordings.

Sara has presented recitals and master classes across the US and in Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia and the Tohono O'odham Nation. In additon to recitals at five recent conferences of the International Double Reed Society, Sara has also presented her work at the CMS National Conference in Vancouver, BC. At the University of Arizona she has taught oboe pedagogy, reedmaking, oboe techniques for music education majors, Music in World Cultures, and chamber music. Sara is a member of the Arizona Wind Quintet, UA's faculty ensemble-in-residence, which has enjoyed performances across Southern Arizona and in Los Angeles, El Paso, Ciudad Juárez, and La Facultad de Música (UNAM) in Mexico City.

Sara held the Gillet Fellowship at the Tanglewood Music Center and was a participant in the Tanglewood Bach Seminar. She has also performed at the Aspen Music Festival, Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, Chautauqua, Spoleto Festival USA, and the prestigious Schleswig-Holstein Orchestral Academy in Germany. Sara has played with numerous orchestras, including the Phoenix Symphony, Arizona Opera, Broadway in Tucson, St. Andrews Bach Society, Tucson Pops, Illinois Symphony, Champaign-Urbana Symphony, Brockton Symphony, Newton Symphony, New Bedford Symphony, Gardner Chamber Orchestra, and Sinfonia da Camera.

Raised in New Haven, Connecticut, Sara is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (DMA), New England Conservatory (MM), and Swarthmore College (BA). She was a National Merit Scholar and recipient of the Garrigues Scholarship, Peter Gram Swing Prize, and Kate Neal Kinley Memorial Fellowship. Her principal teachers include Robert Botti, John Dee, Mark McEwen, Jonathan Blumenfeld, Sandra Gerster Lisicki, and John de Lancie. Her doctoral thesis, “The Oboe Works of Isang Yun,” explores twenty solo and chamber pieces by the Korean composer, with a focus on tonal language and relationships to East Asian philosophy.

For more information:
sarafraker.com
oboe.music.arizona.edu

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The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
1 week ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

Congratulations to faculty member Dr. José Luis Puerta and alumnus Alfredo Vázquez on the release of their new album "Appunti" under the Seville-based Contrastes Records. The album was recorded at the Haskell Recording Studio at the University of Arizona School of Music by Wiley Ross. The debut CD Of the Puerta-Vázquez Duo is a monographic work of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. The album includes pieces that were dedicated or made famous by Duo Presti Lagoya, Sonatina Canonica, and Fuga Elegiaca. The latter one was dedicated to them posthumously. The album also presents a unique interpretation of Appunti Op. 210. A setting for two guitars by the late David Grimes, who made this with Tedesco’s approval. The CD release concert will take place as part of the Faculty Artist Series on October 22, 7:00 PM, Holsclaw Hall.

The album is available for purchase as well as streaming on all platforms.

For more information about the duo please visit

video link:

Jose Luis Puerta
Alfredo Vazquez
Contrastes Records
#HaskellRecordingStudio
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Felicidades 🎊🎉🎈

Muchas felicidades y bendiciones !!!! Siempre has sido un honesto luchador y vencedor. !!!

It’s a wonderful recording!

Congratulations!

¡FELICITACIONES!

Felicidades José Luis! Excelente Dúo!

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The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
2 weeks ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

Fred Fox Graduate Wind Quintet
Festival Musica Malicorne Farewell Concert
Cassandra Gunn – Flute
Gabriella Beltran – Oboe
Cristian Barazal – Clarinet
Caitlynn Sandberg – Horn
Matthew Dutczak – Bassoon
Friday June 24, 2022 at 4:00 p.m.
Holsclaw Hall & Facebook Live
Livestream:

$Free Admission

As the Fred Fox Graduate Wind Quintet prepares to travel to attend the Festival Musica Malicorne in Le Mans, France, they would like to invite you to a farewell concert on Friday June 24, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. in Holsclaw Hall and via livestream on Facebook and Instagram. The performance will feature a reduction of Georges Bizet’s opera, “Carmen” and other traditional French and American repertoire.

The students have a go-fund-me to assist with travel expenses:
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The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
2 months ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

Interview Lisandro Acosta, Distinguished Master's Student

***

The Fred Fox School of Music 2022 Scholarship drive ends today! Thank you for joining us for our shared belief in our young artists and scholars, and for the love of music.

If you want to make a gift, the crowdfunding will close at midnight!


***

What the world needs now is more love and more music! And the Fred Fox School of Music needs your financial support. Your tax-deductible gift helps to provide the financial support that our talented, visionary young musicians need in order to thrive, create and innovate at the Fred Fox School of Music.

The Fred Fox School of Music is a place of discovery, growth and of musical excellence. The generous support of our loyal patrons, alumni and friends is crucial to serving our bold mission and supporting our wonderful students. This month-long fundraising event features student performances, stories and powerful testimonies to the transformational power of scholarship gifts.

***

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Concertlist
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/vyE8MQj/…
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The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
2 months ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

Last day to give:

Any gift can make a difference!
Thank you for your support of our talented students!

....

$25: Your gift contributes towards students' application fees for Young Artist and other music competitions

$100: Your gift contributes towards students' conference fees for professional development

$250: Your gift helps to support student travel for professional presentations and performances at conferences

$500: Your gift provides the award for the concerto winners who perform at the Presidents Concert

$1000: Your gift provides monetary awards towards the Distinguished Graduate Student Awards

$2000: Your gift provides funds towards international travel, summer workshops and performance programs
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The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
2 months ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

Thank you for your support of students like Benjamin!

Double your impact during our donation matching challenge through May 15th!

Interview with Benjamin Patrick Skoronski, Distinguished Graduate Student Award winner, PhD student in musicology.

Thanks to a group of four generous donors, all gifts for To Music with Love will be matched dollar for dollar up to $5,000 until May 15, 2022. Please make your gift today and double your impact on our amazing students!

What the world needs now is more love and more music! And the Fred Fox School of Music needs your financial support. Your tax-deductible gift helps to provide the financial support that our talented, visionary young musicians need in order to thrive, create and innovate at the Fred Fox School of Music.
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Thanks so much for the recognition! Would you be able to repost with the correct spelling of my name ("Skoronski" rather than "Skoranski")?

👏👏👏👏👏

Congratulations 🎊

Congratulations to Ben.

The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
2 months ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

JustArts Fellowship for Student Leaders in the Arts

The program was created in collaboration with students serving on the Arizona Arts Diversity and Inclusion Committee, including Seoyeon Kim, Cat Cogliandro, Arianna Aquino, and Lynn Robinson. I am excited that it is now ready to launch with generous funding made possible through philanthropic support.

This unique opportunity invites students to design and complete a change-oriented project that increases student access to meaningful arts experiences. Fellows identify challenges, generate creative solutions, and collaborate with student peers and Arizona Arts mentors to bring a more just vision of the arts to life.

To be eligible for the Fellowship, students must be degree-seeking undergraduate or graduate students in UArizona's College of Fine Arts and enrolled full-time for the 2022-2023 academic year. Fellows will meet once every other week during the fall and spring semesters. They will also receive a $6,000 award with an additional $1,500 in supply/execution budget to bring projects to fruition. You may find more details in the attached flyer.

In my capacity as AVP for Equity in the Arts, I've come to know students across CFA who demonstrate a commitment to equity and inclusion through advocacy, community-building, and other actions big and small. I am sure there are many students in your networks who are ideal candidates for this opportunity. Please share the announcement and flyer widely and encourage individual students to apply. The deadline for applications is May 30, 2022.
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Fred Fox School Of Music

P.O. BOX 210004
1017 North Olive Road
Music Building, Room 109
Tucson, AZ 85721-0004

Email: musicweb@cfa.arizona.edu

Phone: 520.621.1655

Fax: 520.621.8118


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College of Fine Arts

P.O. BOX 210004
1017 North Olive Road
Music Building, Room 111
Tucson, AZ 85721-0004

Email: finearts@cfa.arizona.edu

Phone: 520.621.1302

Fax: 520.621.1307

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