Betty Oberacker, pianist, is internationally acclaimed for her interpretations of both traditional and contemporary solo and chamber music repertoire, and has toured throughout Europe, Israel, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and the U.S., including performances at Carnegie Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Berlin Philharmonic Hall and Vienna Musikverein. She has been Artist-in-Residence at 55 universities, conservatories and music festivals worldwide, and many important composers have dedicated their compositions to her. Her musical gifts were evidenced at three, when she began to play the piano and compose entirely by ear. Piano lessons started at age seven, and at nine she was accepted on scholarship as the only child student of the noted pianist Beryl Rubinstein. Her BM/MM Degrees are from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and her DMA Degree is from Ohio State University, where she was concomitantly a member of the piano faculty. Her discography includes Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier (Clavier Records), A Bach Commemorative Recital (MIT Great Performances Archives), Chamber Music of Emma Lou Diemer (Orion), Schönberg’s Pierrot Lunaire (Century), John Biggs’ Variations on a Theme of Shostakovich (VMM), and Diemer’s Piano Concerto (MMC), the latter two works composed for Oberacker. Honors accorded her include a Fulbright Research Fellowship to Italy and the University of California Distinguished Teaching Award, and her students hold important positions as performers and teachers in the U.S., Asia and Europe. Dr. Oberacker is UCSB Professor Emeritus, and enjoys an active performing, teaching and chamber music coaching schedule.
SBMC Concert Performances
- Puccini’s Desperate Divas, Saturday, November 7, 2015 3:00 pm
- Voice, Flute, and Ludwig, Saturday, November 21, 2015 3:00 pm
- Holiday Concert, Saturday, December 19, 2015 3:00 pm
- More Romantic Krapp, Saturday, March 5, 2016 3:00 pm
- A Varied Program, Saturday, April 30, 2016 3:00 pm
- Betty Oberacker, Piano, Saturday, May 14, 2016 3:00 pm
- Holiday Concert and Reception, Saturday, December 17, 2016 3:00 pm
- Music from Russia, France, and Germany, Saturday, April 22, 2017 3:00 pm
- Centennial Concert, Saturday, October 21, 2017 3:00 pm
- Holiday Concert and Reception, Saturday, December 2, 2017 3:00 pm
- Quello è amore, Saturday, March 24, 2018 3:00 pm
- Betty Oberacker Recital, Saturday, May 19, 2018 12:00 am
- Music from 1818: Celebrating Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Saturday, October 27, 2018 3:00 pm
- Schumann, Bach, and Borodin, Saturday, December 1, 2018 3:00 pm
- Elegant Outliers, Saturday, January 12, 2019 3:00 pm
- From Fauré to Bolcom, Saturday, March 23, 2019 3:00 pm
- Apotheosis: Bach and Brahms POSTPONED, Saturday, April 20, 2019 3:00 pm
- Ave Maria and Martinu, Saturday, May 4, 2019 3:00 pm
- Apotheosis, Saturday, October 19, 2019 3:00 pm
- Winter Tales, Saturday, January 25, 2020 12:00 am
- Afternoon with a Faun, Saturday, February 22, 2020 3:00 pm
- Combinations, Saturday, February 26, 2022 3:00 pm
- Beethoven, Mozart, & Diemer!, Saturday, April 23, 2022 3:00 pm
- Music Sparkling and Profound, Saturday, February 11, 2023 3:00 pm
- Suites and Sonata, Saturday, January 13, 2024 3:00 pm
- Melodious Mozart, Saturday, March 2, 2024 3:00 pm