Sara E Fraker

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Scholarly Contributions

Presentations

• Fraker, S. E. (2018, October). The Braiding Sweetgrass Project: One Model for Creating Meaningful Interdisciplinary Work through Engagement and Performance. College Music Society National Conference. Vancouver, BC.
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  LECTURE/PERFORMANCEAbstract:Institutions are placing increasing emphasis on interdisciplinary research as a way to confront the most complex social and technological problems of our time. This presentation describes the genesis and realization of a robust creative project drawing equally upon the disciplines of music, ecology, and Native American studies. The resulting 10-minute work, Braiding (for oboe, electronics, and natural sounds), is based on ecologist Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants (Milkweed Editions, 2013). Composed by Asha Srinivasan, the piece represents a major addition to the emerging body of artistic work concerned with ecology, sustainability, and climate change. Indeed, as the worldwide movement for sustainability gains urgency, many artists and scientists are staking new territory at the intersections of music, acoustic ecology, soundscape studies, and environmental science. In celebration of the world premiere, my collaborators – author and composer – were invited as visiting scholars to engage with various communities, both on-campus and beyond. Specifically, a unique relationship was forged with the Tohono O’odham Nation, which sponsored an ethnobotany exploration and performance of the piece. The project was funded through a collection of state, university, and departmental grants. Extensions of the project include multiple performances across the U.S. and a professional studio recording.Questions arising from this project include: How can artistic production inspire social change and greater community engagement? How can creative interdisciplinary projects be leveraged to increase appreciation and visibility for the arts? How can collaborations result in meaningful interactions among diverse constituencies?

Creative Productions

• Luce, B., Fraker, S. E., Olegario, M., Woods, R. A., & Ross, W. M. (2020. Concertino, Op. 65. compact discNaxos Records. https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.574053&fbclid=IwAR0v8yfiy_OHVa_iROJISMCVDsqIqIQzEOsbdhqP_7kNjOr75XBFpAyWTyM
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  Appears on album: William Mathias: A Vision of Time and Eternity, Songs and Chamber Music. Jeremy Huw Williams, baritone.
• Ross, W. M., Woods, R. A., Olegario, M., Fraker, S. E., & Luce, B. (2020. William Mathias: A Vision of Time and Eternity, Songs and Chamber Music. Jeremy Huw Williams, baritone.. Compact DiscNaxos Records. https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.574053&fbclid=IwAR0v8yfiy_OHVa_iROJISMCVDsqIqIQzEOsbdhqP_7kNjOr75XBFpAyWTyM
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  Appears on album: William Mathias: A Vision of Time and Eternity, Songs and Chamber Music. Jeremy Huw Williams, baritone.Performed on several tracks

Creative Performances

• Fraker, S. E. (2013. Radio Broadcasts on Interlochen Public Radio. Performances from Bay View Music Festival.
• Fraker, S. E. (2013. Radio Broadcasts on KUAT. Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Classics and Masterworks performances.

Others

• Fraker, S. E. (2022, December 2022). Johanna M. Beyer, Movement for Woodwinds. Frog Peak Music.
• Fraker, S. E. (2022, December). Johanna M. Beyer, Quintet for Woodwinds. Frog Peak Music.
• Fraker, S. E. (2022, December). Johanna M. Beyer, Suite for Clarinet & Bassoon. Frog Peak Music.
• Fraker, S. E. (2022, December). Johanna M. Beyer, Trio for Woodwinds. Frog Peak Music.
• Fraker, S. E. (2022, July). Johanna M. Beyer, Six Pieces for Oboe & Piano. Frog Peak Music.
• Fraker, S. E. (2018, November). Transcript: Listening to the Songs of Plants. https://www.sarafraker.com/listening-to-the-songs-of-plants
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  Transcribed, annotated, and digitally published a 2017 pre-concert conversation given my two invited guest artists, Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer (ecologist/author) and Dr. Asha Srinivasan (composer).

Creative Works

• Far In The Heavens: Choral Music of Stephen Paulus; CD release; Reference Recordings (distributed by Naxos); September 2015; Works:Paulus, Prayers and RemembrancesPaulus, The Incomprehensible for Oboe, Harp, and Choir (SOLO credit)
• Pine Chant for reed trio and electronics; Digital download/streaming audio; Soundset Recordings; October 2022
• Magnificent Musical Miniatures; Arizona PBS; November 2022; J.S. Bach, Singet dem Hernn BWV 225 (principal oboe)
• Christmas with True Concord; CD album/streaming; Reference Recordings; November 2019; TCVO is a Grammy-nominated vocal and instrumental ensemble. This recording has risen to No. 3 on Amazon Hot New Releases--Classical: Opera and Vocal, No. 1 on ArkivMusic Holiday Album Best Sellers List, and No. 6 on Apple's Top Selling New Classical Albums. I play solo oboe on 2 tracks. Recorded in Scottsdale, AZ in January 2019.
• Hans Winterberg Chamber Music Vol. I; CD album/streaming; Toccata Classics; November 2018; Co-executive producer, editing supervisor, and performer.Works performed in:Hans Winterberg, Quintet for WindsHans Winterberg, Suite for Winds and HarpsichordHans Winterberg, Suite for Winds and Piano [alternate version]
• BOTANICA: Music for oboe & English horn; CD and digital release; MSR Classics; May 2019; Exploring intersections between the human and botanical worlds, Botanica is a musical entry point into current conversations around environmental and social justice. The six pieces on the album are interrelated, in varying degrees, by threads of common themes and origins: spiritual ecology, poetic text, and resistance to injustice. All are highly expressive in their compositional language. All works are world premiere recordings, with the exception of the Pavel Haas Suite, a masterpiece of the oboe repertoire just beginning to gain full recognition. Asha Srinivasan’s Braiding is a ten-minute piece for oboe, electronics and natural sounds, inspired by Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants. It was the result of an interdisciplinary commissioning project made possible by support from the Arizona Commission on the Arts. It Elegy for Oboe and Piano, also commissioned for this project, is one of Glen Roven’s final compositions before his sudden passing in the summer of 2018. It ends poignantly with an original chorale in the style of Bach, haunted by fleeting oboe embellishments. This chorale finds echoes in Pavel Haas’ persistent treatment of the “Wenceslas chorale,” the most enduring musical symbol of Czech nationalism. It is likely that Haas originally composed the Oboe Suite for tenor voice, with an anti-fascist text so dangerously political that he ultimately decided to give the vocal line to the oboe instead. The oboe melody is often recitative-like, tones shaped around the ghostly forms of secret, vanished syllables. In the Four Songs, composed in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, the original bass voice is reimagined as a solo English horn line. Musically, the Suite and the Songs are inextricably linked, making this new transcription for English horn and piano a natural fit. The Oboe Sonata by Soukup, though from a later era, retains the intensity of Czech post-tonal language. Godron’s whimsical Suite Bucolique finds its home here among music rich with allusions to woodland trees and bamboo forests.
• Johanna Beyer: Music for Woodwinds; New World Records; March 2022
• J.S. Bach, Mass in B Minor BWV 232; Arizona PBS; March 2022; From Mourning to Dancing; principal oboe and oboe d'amore
• Idylls for Oboe, Clarinet and Piano; CD album/streaming; Summit Records; March 2018; Performer, editing co-supervisor, and liner notes author.Works:Judith Bingham, Ave Maris StellaRichard Faith, Idylls for Oboe, Clarinet and PianoMarion Bauer, Duo for Oboe and ClarinetRandall Davidson, The Center of the Known WorldGabriel Marie, Feuilles au ventIdylls for Oboe, Clarinet and Piano brings to light a collection of significant and little-known chamber music works for this uncommon trio combination. The disc features two world premiere recordings: Ave Maris Stella by English composer Judith Bingham (b. 1952), and the title work Idylls, a four-movement song cycle by American composer Richard Faith (b.1926). Originally scored in 1972 for two unaccompanied countertenors, Bingham’s 2002 reimagining of the piece opens incredible possibilities for acoustic and tonal effects between the two treble woodwinds. Depicting a “bleak seascape”, the musical textures created by juxtaposing piano and winds make this an evocative and wholly original work. Rich seascapes and landscapes emerge too from Faith’s song cycle, especially in the tumultuous final movement, On the Isle of Skye. American modernist Marion Bauer (1882-1955) applies inventive harmonies to a traditional four-movement scheme in her Duo for Oboe and Clarinet. The Center of the Known World by Randall Davidson (b. 1953) charts the exploration of an inner emotional landscape. It utilizes the acoustic phenomenon of difference tones between the two woodwinds, while also evoking the rivers and steppes of Tuva, the geographical center of Asia. The disc concludes with a gem by the French romantic Gabriel Marie (1852-1928), a sincere and ephemeral trio entitled, Feuilles au vent (“Leaves in the wind”).
• Interlochen Public Radio "In Studio A"; Radio broadcast and video archive; July 2018; Appearance with Bay View Wind Quintet and composer Tony Manfredonia.Andriessen, Sciarada Spagnuola and Manfredonia, Whoa! July 10, 2018
• How Will We Be With You?; online listening exhibition; January 2021; Onsite Gallery – professional gallery and experimental curatorial platform for art, design and digital mediaOCAD University (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)"Braiding" by Asha Srinivasan
• Earth Symphony by Jake Runestad; Arizona PBS; February 2022; From the Edge to Hope; winner, Rocky Mountain Emmy Award for Music Composition (Jake Runestad)nominated, Rocky Mountain Emmy Award for Audio Live or Post Produced (Alex Kosiorek)
• Lessons & Carols by Candlelight; Arizona PBS; December 2022; Works by Rutter, Paulus, Helvey (solo oboe)
• Duo Entrenous; CD album/streaming; audio recording session producer for Duo Entrenous (clarinet + saxophone duo)
• Richard Faith – Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano; Soundset Recordings; A Second Look