Hartwick college

Uli Speth
spethu@hartwick.edu
Violin and Viola


A native of Germany, Uli completed his undergraduate studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria as student of Harald Herzl. Uli participated in numerous performance classes given by Yfrah Neaman, Thomas Brandis, Jaap Schroeder, and Nicolaus Harnoncourt among others and, after moving to the US, earned his Master of Music degree from the Mannes College of Music. He was a student of Felix Galimir from whom he received both violin and string quartet training. An active orchestra musician, Uli serves as first violin associate of New York City Opera and has performed with various other orchestras including the American Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony, Westchester Philharmonic, and Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic. This year marks Uli's tenth season as first violinist of the Diller-Quaile String Quartet with whom he has played concerts throughout the US, has commissioned and premiered new pieces for string quartet and performed live on Vermont Public Radio and KMFA of Texas. As part of its residency this group maintains a vital presence in the New York community by offering a series of recitals and also giving outreach concerts for children in public schools in the South Bronx, Harlem, and the Lower East Side. Uli's recent solo and chamber performances have been praised by critics for his "brilliant sound and facile fingers" (Austin American Statesman) and "gorgeous tone and stunning technique" (Salzburger Nachrichten). Uli is first violinist of the recently formed novo4tet and this will be Uli's third season as concertmaster of the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra.
Violin Syllabus

Ben Whittenburg
benandsusan@peoplepc.com
Cello

Ben Whittenburg graduated from Colgate University and continued his studies at Boston University. He has been an active freelancer in New York City since 1981playing with such groups as the Orchestra of St. Ignatius and the Orchestra of St. Lukes. He has also played in many Broadway shows including Guys and Dolls, Forum, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Hairspray and Wicked. Ben spent a year in Naples, Italy playing in the Opera Orchestra of the Teatro di San Carlo. He now resides in Roxbury, NY and teaches cello at Hartwick College. He continues to play in Glimmerglass Opera, Albany Symphony, Catskill Choral Society, Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, and chamber music concerts with the Little Delaware Chamber Players.
Cello Syllabus

Jered Egan
jeredegan@delhitel.net
Double Bass

Jered Egan  has spent the last thirty years as a professional freelance musician -equally at home on the concert stage, in a Broadway pit or at many cabaret boîtes around town. Concert work has included performing with the American Composers Orchestra, the American Symphony Orchestra, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the New York Chamber Symphony and the New York Pops as well as a season with the Hong Kong Philharmonic. In addition, he has appeared with the Royal Ballet Orchestra, toured the U.S. and Asia with the Erick Hawkins Dance Company, and has held the position of principal bass with the Berkshire Opera, the Teatro Lirico Sperimentale in Italy and with the Martha Graham Dance Company. As a chamber musician, he has worked with Bargemusic, the North Country Chamber Players, the New York Viola Society and at the Monadnock and Manchester Music Festivals.

Jered spent fifteen years working on Broadway and his pit orchestra credits include shows from Phantom of the Opera to The Producers. He made his onstage Broadway debut playing and singing in An Evening with Jerry Herman and also appeared onstage in Patti LuPone on Broadway.

In the cabaret field he plays an annual two-month engagement with Andrea Marcovicci at the Algonquin Hotel’s Oak Room and has also appeared with her at the Savannah Music Festival, Philadelphia’s Prince Theater, and as the inaugural act at Miami’s Performing Arts Center. He continues to perform regularly in New York City at the Café Carlyle, Feinstein’s at the Regency, Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater and The Metropolitan Room. Among the singers he has worked with are Polly Bergen, Faith Prince, Teri Ralston, Gregg Edelman, David Campbell and Jeff Harnar. He has also appeared at the Kennedy Center with Liz Callaway and, with Liz and her sister Ann Hampton Callaway, is playing at venues across the country in support of their recently released CD Boom! Live At Birdland. A regular performer on the prestigious Lyrics and Lyricists series at the 92^nd Street Y, he also plays for many singers at New York’s annual Cabaret Convention, held at Town Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center. In 2006 he was honored to be selected by Backstage Magazine to receive its Bistro Award for Outstanding Instrumentalist for his work in cabaret.

For the last seven years he and his partner Martin have made their home in the western Catskills town of Delhi, NY where they have opened the West Branch House Bed and Breakfast. Mr. Egan holds two degrees from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Homer Mensch, and completed his training with fellowships at Tanglewood, Waterloo and the Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi in Italy. He is presently an artist in residence in the music program at Hartwick College.

Mr. Davey recorded and performed with the New Jersey based jazz trio INTERWEAVE for ten years. Their recordings include the critically acclaimed album “Expedition” at Rudy Van Gelder’s Englewood Cliffs, NJ studio. Davey has performed extensively with his chamber-jazz string trio From the Bridge, releasing their debut album Nine Views from the Bridge in 2001. He has studied with jazz bassists Gary Peacock, Dave Holland and Mark Helias. He performed for three years with his quartet The Bridge, appearing at The Syracuse Jazz Fest in 1995 and 1996. He has performed with The Catskill Symphony, jazz pianist Mike Holober, the late saxophonist Al Gallodoro, the late percussionist Collin Walcott, jazz cellist Hank Roberts, and world percussionist Brian “Uduboy” Melick.

His chamber-jazz string trio From the Bridge, featuring classical guitarist Dennis Turechek and violist Amy Merrill has been performing throughout central New York since the fall of 1998. The trio released their debut CD 9 Views from the Bridge in the spring of 2001. The recording features the compositions of John Davey and was funded in part by grants from the New York State Council of the Arts and The State University of New York. The CD is available through the on-line services of cdbaby.com and towerrecords.com.

He is a member of BMI, and teaches jazz bass at SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY, where he also directs the Jazz Combo.

Dennis Turechek
turechdl@oneonta.edu
Classical Guitar

Dennis is an active performer and composer. He has written several compositions for guitar such as “Five Studies for guitar,” “Fugue in C Minor,” “Suite in G# Minor,” “Theme and Variations,” “Ten Tone Tune,” and “Etude for Five Guitars.” He is the founder and past president of the Classical Guitar Society for Upstate New York and has recorded two solo albums “Dennis Turechek Plays Dennis Turechek” and “Nine Views from the Bridge.”

Familiar to many in the area as one third of the jazz improvisation trio From the Bridge, Dennis Turechek is an accomplished classical and jazz guitarist with an extensive solo and ensemble career. In addition to his current position on the staffs of Hartwick College and SUNY Oneonta, Dennis has taught music and guitar at the Catskill Conservatory, the Brooklyn Music School, and the Metropolitan Music School. He has performed for the Glimmerglass Opera productions of The Barber of Seville, Don Pasquale, and Falstaff. He has also performed with the Catskill Symphony Orchestra and the Catskill Chamber Players.
Guitar Syllabus


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