Victoria Racz

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 1993 – 2011). She has played oboe and English horn with Columbia Symphony (Orchestra Nova Northwest), American Metropole Orchestra, Oregon Symphony, and other groups in the region, including the Oregon Chorale, Reprise Choir, and ISing Choir. She is principal oboist with the Portland Festival Symphony, Portland Summerfest Opera (Opera in the Park), and Vancouver Master Chorale where she was also a concerto soloist twice. She 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 (Orchestra Nova Northwest) for their 2020-’21 Season while their regular principal took a sabbatical, and was also Acting Principal for 2023. In January 2024 she auditioned and won the principal position for PCSO. 

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 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.

Through her annual Northwest Oboe Seminar, she has worked and performed with several world-renowned artists including Humbert Lucarelli, Allan Vogel, Dan Stolper, Nancy Rumbel, Alex Klein, and John Mack, among others.

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

Victoria Racz’s chair is sponsored by Léon Pluymaekers.

The Oboe section is sponsored by Peter & Ann van Bever.