Internationally acclaimed pianist Dr. Betty Oberacker was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on Oct. 17, 1932, and passed away peacefully at her home in Santa Barbara on June 28, 2024.
Her musical gifts were evidenced at age three, when she began teaching herself to play the piano and compose. 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.
She arrived in Santa Barbara in 1973 to join the UCSB keyboard faculty, eventually rising to chair of the Music Department.
She was proud of her work there, and at the Santa Barbara Music Club, where she volunteered after her retirement in various capacities including the concert and scholarship committees, and as a regular performer on their series.
Dr. Oberacker’s keyboard talent extended far beyond her own career into those careers of countless numbers of students. She was a dedicated piano teacher and chamber music coach, mentoring many of the musicians who came through or resided in Santa Barbara.
She also coached such stars as F. Murray Abraham for his role as pianist and composer Antonio Salieri in the 1984 movie “Amadeus.”
An avid lover of animals, she raised several rescued cats and dogs. She enjoyed traveling to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and up the coast to Monterey, California.
Dr. Oberacker will be remembered for her passionate love for music, science and animals. Those who played with her regularly will miss her gorgeous playing, her loyalty, her dedication and perseverance, her numerous jokes and stories, and her attention to detail.
Some of her most oft repeated stories were about her mother, her dogs Itzik and Moishe, her cat Blackie, her childhood teacher Beryl Rubenstein, and her adventures performing around the world.
Dr. Oberacker toured as a pianist 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 was an artist-in-residence at 55 universities, conservatories and music festivals worldwide, and many important composers dedicated their compositions to her.
She earned BM and MM degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and a DMA Degree 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.
She was the recipient of a Fulbright Research Fellowship to Italy, and the University of California Distinguished Teaching Award.
Betty is survived by her brother Donald Oberacker and his wife Phyllis; and her nephew Richard.
A memorial concert will be held by the Santa Barbara Music Club, 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 11 at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 4575 Auhay Drive, Santa Barbara.