Kelley Tracz is an active and in-demand freelance oboist based in the Twin Cities. Kelley frequently performs with numerous orchestras including the Minnesota Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, South Dakota Symphony, Quad City Symphony, and more. She has been featured on multiple recordings, most recently playing with the Minnesota Orchestra on their latest release of Mahler’s Third Symphony. A dedicated and passionate educator, Kelley is on faculty as Assistant Professor of Oboe at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN.
As a chamber musician, Kelley has performed in various festivals including the Festival of Lakes in Alexandria, MN, Bay View Music Festival, and other independently produced recitals around the country. She has been a featured soloist with the Concordia College Wind Ensemble and Symphony, 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.
Kelley has performed at the International Double Reed Society Conferences in Boulder, CO, and most recently premiered Alyssa Morris' new double oboe concerto alongside the composer at the 2023 conference in Bangkok, Thailand. As a clinician, Kelley 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.
Kelley holds her Doctorate of Musical Arts Degree in Oboe with a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Ethnomusicology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Masters of Music from University of Minnesota, and Bachelors of Music from Kansas State University.
In her free time, Kelley is an avid cyclist, enjoys cooking plant-based meals, and loves spending time with her cat Freddie.