Flutist Karl "Fritz" Kraber has performed on five continents and in 49 U.S. States as a soloist and chamber artist. He played 19 seasons with the Dorian Wind Quintet (900 concerts and a dozen recordings) and was also a member of the New York Chamber Soloists and the Aeolian Chamber Players. He has been quest artist with the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society and the Berkshire, Cavani. Galimir, and Hampshire Quartets and is a founding member of the Chamber Soloists of Austin which has toured South America and performed at the Kennedy Center. As a concerto soloist, he has performed with the Boston Pops, the UNAM Filarmonica of Mexico City, and the Santa Cecilia Orchestra of Rome, the Sunriver, Flathead, Waterloo Festivals and the Austin Symphony where he was also the Principal Flutist for many years.
As an orchestral player and New York free-lancer, he was a regular alternate Principal Flute with the American Symphony and the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and a frequent player with the New York Philharmonic. He has played under such conductors as Abbado, Barbirolli, Bernstein, Comissionoa, DeCarvalho, Fiedler, Foss, Kubelik, Rostdestvensky, Schwarz, and Tilson Thomas, among many others.
Mr. Kraber was awarded a Solo Recitalist Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts, and has recently recorded two solo CD’s for Equilibrium. He has also recorded chamber music for Candide, CRI, Koch, Musical Heritage, Turnabout, Vox, and Gasparo.
After earning his BA in Music from Harvard College and studying flute with James Pappoutsakis of the Boston Symphony, Mr. Kraber was awarded a Fulbright Grant for two years of study in Italy with Severino Gazzelloni. He continued his studies with Jean-Pierre Rampal and Marcel Moyse. While in Europe, he performed for the Paris and Rome TV, the BBC, and German, Italian, and Swiss Radios.
Also well known for his university teaching and master classes, Mr. Kraber has taught at Oberlin, Yale, SUNY Stony Brook, Indiana University, and the University of Texas, from which he has just recently retired after 21 years as Associate Professor of Flute.
Currently Mr. Kraber resides in Austin where he is a member of the Chamber Soloists of Austin. He recently published three editions for IMC, 2 Clementi Sonatas, 3 Bach Works for flute and strings and Mozart’s Andante in F Major K. 616 for three flutes and alto flute.
As a clinician, soloist, and master class presenter, Mr. Kraber is frequently sought after to be a guest artist at universities and flute clubs throughout the country. Contact Altus Flutes (info@altusflutes.com) to arrange a performance by Mr. Kraber.