Meet Samantha!
Samantha Carr is an active freelance oboist, educator, and reed maker in Southeast Wisconsin. Currently, she maintains studios at the Waukesha County Conservatory of Music and in the Milwaukee area. Samantha is acting Second Oboe of the Wisconsin Philharmonic and holds the second oboe and English horn chair of the Kettle Moraine Symphony. Throughout her career she has had the opportunity to perform in notable orchestras across the Midwest such as the Milwaukee Symphony, Milwaukee Ballet, and the Peoria Symphony.
In addition to performing and teaching, she runs a reed business that caters to professionals and students of all ages. She believes that oboists should have access to quality handmade reeds that are made specifically for them. Her reeds have been sold through online retailers including Midwest Musical Imports, Jennet Ingle, and Jende Industries.
Samantha holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Bowling Green State University and a dual Master’s in Oboe Performance and Chamber Music from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM).
While at UWM, Samantha served as the Oboe Studio Teaching Assistant and Head Band Librarian. Additionally, Samantha was a member of the all-female reed quintet, Cosmo Reeds. Most recently, her quintet presented at the International Double Reed Society and collaborated with Danceworks Milwaukee.
Her primary teachers include Katherine Young Steele, Nermis Mieses, and Geoffrey Johnson. She has attended summer programs such as Music Academy International Trentino Music Festival in Trento, Italy (2017) Eastern Music Festival (2018 and 2019) where she studied with Randall Ellis and Karen Birch Blundell, and the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival in Stellenbosch, South Africa.