Kelley Tracz

Dr. Kelley Tracz is an oboist currently based in Minneapolis, and is very active as both a performer and educator in Minnesota and beyond. Tracz is Associate Principal Oboe of the South Dakota Symphony, and also serves as Assistant Professor of Oboe at Concordia College. She is a frequent substitute musician with the Minnesota Orchestra, having also performed with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, New World Symphony, Quad City Symphony, Sioux City Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, Ohio Light Opera Orchestra, Greensboro Symphony, Central Texas Philharmonic, and more. She can be heard on the Minnesota Orchestra's recent release of Mahler 3 with Osmo Vänska, as well as a world premiere piece by John Luther Adams with the South Dakota Symphony. As a chamber musician, Kelley has performed in various festivals including Lakes Area Music Festival (Brainerd, MN), Festival of the Lakes (Alexandria, MN), Bay View Music Festival (Petoskey, MI), and other independently produced recitals around the country. Tracz has been a featured soloist with the Concordia College Wind Ensemble, Concordia College Symphonic Band, UNC Greensboro University Band, Austin Symphonic Band, Kansas State University Wind Ensemble, Packard Wind Band, and is also a past winner of the Midwest Double Reed Society Young Artist Competition.

Tracz has performed at the International Double Reed Society Conference in Boulder, CO, and most recently premiered Alyssa Morris' new double oboe concerto alongside the composer at the 2023 conference in Thailand. As a clinician, Tracz presented at the 2023 Minnesota Music Education Association conference and Minnesota Band Directors Association, the focus of the presentation aimed at helping band directors in both urban and rural communities successfully start a student on oboe or switch them over from another instrument, when resources such as reeds, lessons, and repair may not be easily accessible due to financial or geographical challenges. As a passionate and dedicated educator, Tracz has given masterclasses and served as a clinician to young oboists and fellow music educators in Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan, South Dakota, North Carolina, and Texas. Students of Tracz's have advanced to Region, Area, and All-State ensembles in Texas and Minnesota, and have also been accepted into various schools of music across the country, including The Eastman School of Music, UT Austin, UMKC Conservatory, and Southern Methodist University. Tracz has served as a faculty artist and premier instructor for the national double reed camp, Bocal Majority in Austin, TX, and has also taught oboe at several summer music programs in Minnesota, Michigan, Kansas, Georgia, and North Carolina. 

Tracz received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Oboe Performance and Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Ethnomusicology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. During her time at UNCG, she studied with Dr. Ashley Barret and served as the Teaching Assistant for the Oboe Studio. Tracz also served as a Teaching Assistant for the Ethnomusicology Department. She holds her Masters of Music degree from the University of Minnesota, where she studied with former Principal Oboe of the Minnesota Orchestra, John Snow. She completed her Bachelors of Music degree at Kansas State University, studying with Dr. Nora Lewis. Additionally, she has studied with Dr. Andrew Parker of UT Austin, as well as extensive English horn study with Carolyn Hove of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.