Dr. Anna Bradford is a freelance oboist and music educator in the Chicago area, having recently relocated from Boston, Massachusetts in August of 2023. Throughout greater Boston and New England, Dr. Bradford frequently performed as a soloist, a chamber musician, and an orchestral musician. As an educator, she taught approximately 30 private students per week in addition to coaching chamber music, giving oboe sectionals, and running several music departments.
As a soloist, Dr. Bradford was named the 2014 winner of the Boston Woodwind Society's Ralph Gomberg Oboe Competition, and in 2017 was hailed by the Boston Musical Intelligencer as a "confident and sensitive player" for a performance of the Mozart Oboe Quartet with Symphony Nova. As a chamber musician, Dr. Bradford is a member of the Kalliope Reed Quintet, the first professional reed quintet in New England and one of the first 50 reed quintets worldwide. Kalliope's mission is to expand and diversify the reed quintet repertoire and to further strengthen the role of contemporary chamber music in the 21st century. As an orchestral musician, Dr. Bradford held positions with Bangor Symphony Orchestra, the Cape Ann Symphony and the Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra, and frequently performed with Symphony New Hampshire, the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, Vista Philharmonic, and the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Bradford is equally passionate as a performer and an educator. She worked extensively with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras as an oboe coach, a chamber music coach, and the oboe instructor for the Intensive Community Program. She also taught weekly oboe lessons at the All-Newton Music School, the Fenn School, and the Community Music Center of Boston. While at CMCB, Dr. Bradford also operated as the head of the Winds Department and ran CMCB's Boston Latin School Satellite Program, organizing recruitment efforts and master classes.
Dr. Bradford teaches oboe students and chamber music to students of all ages (including adults) and levels, and believes in a student-centered approach to learning, where students' goals and strengths guide curriculum and lesson structure. She is currently an Adjunct Instructor of Oboe at South Suburban College, and teaches oboe at Niles West High School, Oak Forest High School, and Tinley Park High School.