Tell us about your family:

My Father was a singer by training and taught K-6 public school general music and Chorus, while my Mom who has degrees in Biology and Library Science stayed at home with my brother, sister and I when we were young but then worked many different types of jobs including church secretary, piano accompanist and theatre set design. We lived on a subsistence farm outside of Parish, NY. We grew all our food and raised chickens and turkeys for meat and kept bees for honey. We would barter with the dairy farm next door for milk to drink and make butter/cheese. As a result, I have a rather unusual skill set for a musician and a deep love for gardening and the bounty the Earth can bring us. Here in Buffalo, my Mom now lives with me and our two cats and our beautiful city garden. My siblings both married and each have 2 daughters whom I am very close to and enjoy video chatting with regularly.  

Why did you start playing the oboe and English horn?

When I was ten, we moved off of our farm because the local school district did not have chorus or instrumental music programs until high school. My parents felt strongly that they wanted a more robust music program for my siblings and I so we moved to Fulton NY, the district my father taught in. We still farmed but no longer as extensively. In my first week the band teacher approached me and asked if I wanted to join band. I told her yes and she told me I would play oboe. I had no choice, but that did not matter to me at all. I loved the challenge of oboe right from the beginning. I did not start playing English horn seriously until graduate school at Yale. 

What do you enjoy about being a member of the BPO?

I love my colleagues and the audiences of the BPO. It is a truly unique and magical experience for every person in the auditorium to be working together to create an unforgettable live music experience. We as musicians train our entire lives as individuals but come together each week on many kinds of programs, and when the audience then is added into the experience it is truly special for me.   

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not performing?

I still garden a large amount in the warmer months and care for many house plants in the winter. I also teach local oboe students and travel some to teach outside at other institutions. In addition, I love weightlifting, walking and yoga and am a very dedicated gym goer. 

What is a favorite Buffalo experience for dining/recreation?

Well as I know now, being a Buffalonian for almost 20 years, eating out here is amazing. Favorite spots include several bakeries. I give a special shout out to Millers Thumb and Mojo Market in Kenmore where my Mom and I live. When my siblings and family visit, we love to go to Beaver Island state park and to the Zoo.  

What do you want audience members to know about the BPO?

The BPO has a robust and extensive educational program that serves all Western NY and beyond. We have an amazing staff that helps us as musicians reach all kinds of people that would not otherwise be able to access the BPO or music-learning in general easily. I am very very proud of my work as a teaching artist for the orchestra. I travel to schools, senior centers, libraries, community centers, etc. with many kinds of programs geared to help bring music to our community in an accessible way. If you had told 20-something Anna that she could stand in front of an auditorium of 5-7 graders with just her instruments and hold their attention for a 45 hour program I would have said NO WAY. Turns out happily that 20-something Anna was wrong about that.   

What piece are you most excited to perform this season?

I have to say it is a whole program: April 11 and 12, “Pablo’s Guitar.” As an English Hornist I have a beautiful solo in the Rodrigo Guitar Concerto that I love to play, but also on that program is an Overture by Grażyna Bacewicz. She is a fabulous Polish composer that I was introduced to when I played a piece by her with the Buffalo Chamber Players a couple years ago. I loved her style so I can't wait to play this orchestral overture. That program concludes with Borodin’s Symphony No. 2, which is a fun romp for the orchestra with lots and lots and lots of notes.