Music Department
University of Wisconsin Whitewater
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Benjamin Whitcomb
Associate Professor
Cello Ensemble Director
OFFICE: CA 2022PHONE: (262) 472-5573
EMAIL: whitcomb@uww.edu
Education
Doctor of Philosophy degree in Music Theory and a Master of Music degree in Cello Performance from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Music degree in Cello Performance from Oklahoma State University.Biography
Dr. Benjamin Whitcomb, Associate Professor of Cello and Music Theory, is a graduate of UT-Austin and Oklahoma StateUniversity. Dr. Whitcomb has studied violoncello with Phyllis Young, George Neikrug, and Evan Tonsing.
Dr. Whitcomb performs frequently in solo and chamber music recitals, averaging over 30 such concerts per year. Many of these include performances of concerti with local orchestras or performances on the "Live from the Chazen" concert series on WPR. He is a member of the Ancora String Quartet (www.ancoraquartet.com) and the UW-W Piano Trio. He has also been a member several regional orchestras in Texas and Wisconsin, including the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and serving as Associate Principal cello of the Madison Symphony. Dr. Whitcomb frequently performs recital tours at universities around the country as a member of the Whitcomb-de Vries duo.
Dr. Whitcomb has produced several CDs of his recordings, including a collection of works for unaccompanied cello by Bach and Gabrielli with MSR Classics. He is a contributing author to Teaching Music through Performance in Orchestra, Vol. 3, and the chair of the committee that is revising the cello portion of the ASTA String Syllabus. He is past president of the Wisconsin Chapter of the American String Teachers' Association (ASTA). He has presented numerous papers on cello and on music theory at national conferences, including those of ASTA and the Society for Music Theory. He has published articles in the journals Theoria, Strings, and American String Teacher. He is also an articles editor, a book reviewer, and the editor of the Cello Forum of the American String Teacher journal.
He is a frequent guest clinician and performer at high schools and summer camps, including the National String Workshop, and at universities throughout the country. An expert in the area of string pedagogy, Dr. Whitcomb is known for his work in teaching both technique and musicianship. He recently finished writing a book on practicing the cello, which is scheduled to be available in the spring of 2008.
Dr. Whitcomb was chair of the instrumental faculty at the La Musica Lirica music festival in Nova Feltria, Italy, from 2004 to 2006. At UW-Whitewater, Dr. Whitcomb initiated and continues to coordinate the Theory/History Colloquium speaker series, the Musical Mosaics Faculty Concert Series, and the Whitewater String Chamber Music Camp. He has been recognized by the music department for his outstanding teaching and research.
Personal website: www.benjaminwhitcomb.com
Whitewater Orchestra: http://www.uww.edu/cac/music/orchestra/