Lorraine Duso Kitts
Professor of Music - Double Reeds
SFA 117
(501) 450-5769
Lorraine Duso Kitts is a music professor oboe and bassoon at the University of Central Arkansas. She
has been teaching for over 20 years at UCA. She also teaches adjunct bassoon at Harding University and
adjunct double reeds at Hendrix College. She plays Second Oboe with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra
as well as Principal Oboe with the Conway Symphony Orchestra.
After her studies and performing in groups all over the world, in 2000 she moved to Conway to teach at
UCA. She has also performed in orchestras outside of the State of Arkansas such as the Knoxville
Symphony, TN, the Orquesta Sinfonica de Estado de Mexico and Orquesta Sinfonia de Jalapa in Mexico.
As a soloist Dr. Duso Kitts performed with the Arkansas Symphony at the William Jefferson Clinton
Presidential Library, River Rhapsodie Chamber Music Series, and she was a soloist with other ensembles,
such as the Pine Bluff Symphony (AR), Fuzhou Philharmonic Orchestra in Fuzhou, China, and the Little
Rock Wind Symphony. In August 2018, she performed with the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada String
Quintet at the International Double Reed Society Conference in Granada, Spain.
Lorraine takes pride in her training as a bassoon professor. Since 2000 she has attend the Glickman
Popkin Bassoon Camp, a ten day workshop. At the camp she performed in recitals, reed making and
participated in masterclasses, with such artists as Richard Svoboda, Principal Bassoon of the Boston
Symphony, Stephan Levesque, Principal Bassoon of the Montreal Symphony, Charles Ullery, Principal
Bassoon of the St Paul Chamber Orchestra, John Clouse, Principal Bassoon of the Cleveland Orchestra,
Alan Goodman, Retired Principal Bassoon of Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Barris Stees Assistant
Principal of the Cleveland Orchestra. In 2021 at the Glickman Popkin Camp, Duso Kitts’s highlight was
performing in a bassoon quintet with legendary bassoonist Andrew Brady, principal of the St. Paul
Chamber Orchestra. She has attend other bassoon clinics such as Bassoon Monsoon clinic at Marian
University, (IN) Their clinician was Bill Ludwig, Professor of Bassoon at Indianapolis University and
Bassoon Day at Butler University.
Recently, Dr. Duso founded a professional trio for oboe, saxophone, and piano called The Topaz Trio.
Founded in 2019, the Topaz Trio explores the tonal sounds created by the unique combination of the oboe
and saxophone families. The trio collectively bring years of solo and chamber music experience to this
ensemble. To date, the Topaz Trio has performed at international and nation conferences, including the
International Double Reed Society (IDRS), North Association of College Wind & Percussion Instructors
(NACWPI), and North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA). They have commissioned works by
Stephanie Berg, Paul Dickinson, Karen Griebling, Adam Har-zvi, Doug McConnell and Michael Schelle.
Dr. Duso Kitts spends her summers in Sidney, Maine teaching oboe and coaching chamber music on
bassoon at the New England Music Camp, a six-week summer program for junior high and senior high
school students. During the school year, Dr. Duso Kitts teaches privately in the Cabot, Little Rock,
Conway and Bryant Public Schools. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in Oboe Performance
from the Indiana University, her Master of Music degree in English horn and Oboe Performance from
Manhattan School of Music and her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Oboe Performance from the
University of Michigan. Her teachers include Jerry Sirucek, Joseph Robinson, Tom Stacy and Harry
Sargous.