Techne Music

06/15/2024

We’re still on cloud nine after last night’s tremendous final concert of Techne 2024. Congratulations to the four outstanding student groups, and to the faculty and guest artists offering a magical performance of Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht.

06/13/2024

Final concert tonight, but final masterclasses this afternoon, solo classes by Juliette Kang, Sheila Browne, and Tom Kraines.

06/13/2024

06/12/2024

Techne 2024 Day 4: Excited to have Juliette Kang and Thomas Kraines back with us at Techne. They will be part of the festival performance of Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht tomorrow, and are currently giving wonderful chamber music masterclasses.

06/11/2024

A few more shots of the outstanding Peter Winograd masterclass at Techne today!

06/10/2024

Techne 2024 Day 2: Techne Music Festival Artistic Director Timothy Schwarz starts the day with a great class on articulation challenges in mixed chamber music.

06/08/2024

2024 Techne Music Festival starts tomorrow!

06/04/2024

2024 Techne Music Festival
Faculty Spotlight
Sheila Browne: viola

Techne Music is honored to welcome violist Sheila Browne to the 2024 Festival. Since joining the Techne faculty in 2017, Sheila has brought her amazing teaching and performing skills to Techne Music year after year. As one student commented: "I did not really know what a viola should sound like until I heard Sheila Browne perform."

Sheila will perform "Verklärte Nacht" by Arnold Schoenberg with violinists Juliette Kang and Timothy Schwarz, cellists Thomas Kraines and Lawrence Stomberg, and violist Angela Rubin, who is the Techne 2024 "Browne Award" winner. Thursday, June 13th at 7:00 in Peter Hall/Moravian University. www.TechneMusic.org

Dynamic violist Sheila Browne is from Gladwyne, PA and is also an Irish citizen, performing and giving masterclasses on six continents. She has three new recordings coming out in the next year, including Leaps and Bounds with pianist Julie Nishimura, and was chosen for the first two American Viola Society albums. She has played chamber music with Guarneri, Juilliard, Shanghai, Vermeer, Borromeo, Brentano, Calidore and Miro quartets members, Diaz and Fire Pink trios, and with many other outstanding musicians. A devoted and enthusiastic professor, Sheila was Karen Tuttle's Teaching Assistant at Juilliard, studied at Freiburg Hochschule with Kim Kashkashian and at Rice with Karen Ritscher and Paul Katz, and is currently Distinguished Artist in Residence at Lynn University Conservatory, while also teaching at Temple University. Www.violasheilabrowne.com

06/02/2024

2024 Techne Music Festival
Student Spotlight and Browne Award Winner
Angela Rubin, viola

Techne Music is proud to announce that violist Angela Rubin has been named the Browne Award winner. As a result of this award, Angela will perform "Verklärte Nacht" with legendary violist Sheila Browne, and Techne Music faculty and guest artists Juliette Kang, Timothy Schwarz, Thomas Kraines, and Lawrence Stomberg. Angela has been a student at Techne numerous times, and performed on the faculty concert in the 2023 season. Techne Music is delighted to welcome her back for the 2024 season!

In 2023, Angela has performed in distinguished performance venues around the world including Carnegie Hall in New York City as principal violist of the New York String Orchestra Seminar and at Kitara Hall in Sapporo, Japan as associate principal violist of the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra. As a soloist, Angela was awarded first place in the Nazareth College Community Music Program Music Competition, the Arts Alive Scholarship, and the National School Orchestra Award. She is currently pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Eastman School of Music under the tutelage of Masumi Per Rostad.

05/29/2024

Techne Music masterclasses are free and open to the public! Come see the amazing students in the Techne 2024 Festival learn from the top musicians in the world.

05/28/2024

Techne 2024 Faculty Spotlight
Thomas Kraines, cello

Techne Music is honored to welcome back cellist Thomas Kraines for this third appearance as a special guest at Techne Music. In addition to giving solo and chamber music masterclasses, Tom will be performing Schoenberg's masterpiece "Verklärte Nacht" with violinists Juliette Kang and Timothy Schwarz, violists Sheila Browne and Angela Rubin, and cellist Lawrence Stomberg. Come hear Tom and all of the Techne students and faculty on Thursday, June 13th at 7:00 in Peter Hall/Moravian University!

A member of the Daedalus Quartet, cellist Thomas Kraines has forged a multifaceted career, equally comfortable with avant-garde improvisation, new music, and traditional repertoire. He is also an accomplished composer, and his works have been performed and recorded around the world. Kraines has given musical improvisation workshops and performances at universities and schools across the country, and has taught cello and chamber music at the Peabody Conservatory, the Longy School of Music, Yellow Barn, and Princeton University. He currently teaches at the Settlement Music School, and is director of chamber music at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also teaches cello.

05/24/2024

2024 Techne Music Festival
Special Lecture: Dr. Daria Blyskal
Techne board member Dr. Daria Blyskal will be giving an engaging lecture on Sunday, June 9 for the students of Techne Music titled:

What’s Going on in There?
A Medical Look at What Transpires When We Perform

Dr. Blyskal brings a life-size skeleton to demonstrate basic anatomy of the muscles, bones, joints and nerves involved when musicians perform. Her talk encourages creative consideration of the organ systems that need to work in concert (pun intended!) to produce the intended sound and collaboration amongst colleagues. She reviews medical conditions that can inhibit playing, and yoga postures to prevent and treat common musculoskeletal symptoms.

Techne is very excited to welcome Dr. Blyskal and to learn the valuable lessons all musicians need in her lecture!

Dr. Blyskal studied violin with Dr. Timothy Schwarz and Paul Chou at Lehigh University, graduating with honors in 2003. She received her MD from Drexel University College of Medicine in 2007, completed her family medicine residency at Tower Health in 2010, and has maintained a board-certified doctor-owned family practice on Long Island since. She delights in playing with the Sound Symphony Community Orchestra and Lovely Ladies Quartet. When not doctoring or violining, she’s surfing, gardening, expanding her Italian vocabulary, and coddling her cats named after composers Hans & Nikolai.

05/21/2024

2024 Techne Music Festival
Student Spotlight: Michael Wu, violin

Michael is no stranger to Techne Music, having attended the very first Techne festival in 2013 and almost every year since. A native of Allentown, PA Michael was one of rising stars among musicians in the Lehigh Valley. The faculty at Techne Music have throughly enjoyed working with Michael for the past 11 years! Michael will perform "String Quartet No. 1" by Béla Bartók with violinist Julia Kuzmina, violist Angela Rubin, and cellist Julian Shively on Thursday, June 13th at 7:00 in Peter Hall/Moravian University.

Michael Wu is quickly establishing himself as one of the most sought-after violinists in the USA. The South Florida Classical Review recently praised his performance of Barber’s Violin Concerto, saying “The Presto finale (which some early performers thought unplayable) held no problems for Wu, who was fully equal to its challenges.” As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with notable musicians such as Naumburg and Queen Elizabeth winner Jennifer Frautschi and former Juilliard faculty member Sheila Browne. Other competition successes include the Voorhees Concerto Competition, Schadt Summer Strings Competition, and The Young Classical Virtuosos of Tomorrow. Michael has served as the concertmaster of Ensemble Ibis and is currently a Henri Mancini Institute fellow.

Michael is currently a DMA candidate at the Frost School of Music, having earned a Bachelor in Violin Performance from the Eastman School of Music and a Master’s Degree in Violin Performance from the Peabody Conservatory. His unique sound and approach to standard repertoire comes from his training in both the Galamian/DeLay school and the “musical descendants” of Leopold Auer.

05/17/2024

2024 Techne Music Festvial
Student Spotlight!
Kyran Littlejohn, viola

Techne Music is proud to feature violist Kyran Littlejohn, a former student of Molly Carr, who was the founding Techne Music viola faculty and currently a member of the Juilliard String Quartet. Kyran will perform two string quartets at the 2024 Techne Music Festival: Op. 18, No. 6 by Beethoven and Op. 67 by Brahms; both in B-flat major. He will be joined by violinists Faith Borkowski and Hao Yuan, and cellist Carly Fulcher. Come hear Kyran and all of the Techne Music faculty and students on Thursday, June 13 at 7:00 in Peter Hall/Moravian University. www.TechneMusic.org

05/16/2024

Techne 2024 Student Spotlight
Carly Fulcher, cello

Techne is delighted to welcome Carly to the 2024Techne Music Festival. She will be performing String Quartet Op. 18, No. 6 by Beethoven and String Quartet No. 3, Op. 67 by Brahms. Carly will be joined by violinists Faith Borkowski and Hao Yuan and violist Kyran Littlejohn. This is Carly's first summer attending Techne Music. Come hear Carly and all of the Techne Music students and faculty on Thursday, June 13th at 7:00 in Peter Music Hall/Moravian University! www.TechneMusic.org

Carly Fulcher is a Fellowship Musician and performs as Principal Cellist with The Gulf Coast Symphony. She holds a BM in String Performance from the Florida State University College of Music where she studied with Greg Sauer, served as Principal Cellist in the University Philharmonia, and performed with ensembles of all sizes including for Doctoral Chamber Recitals, an invite-only opportunity usually reserved from graduate students. Previously, Carly held section cello positions with the Tallahassee, Albany, and Panama City Symphonies. She has performed in masterclasses for Alan Harris, Colin Carr, Tamas Varga, Alban Gerhardt, and received chamber coaching from members of the Miro, Verona, Vermeer, Pacifica, and Zorá quartets

05/14/2024

2024 Techne Music Faculty Spotlight
Lawrence Stomberg, cello

Lawrence (Larry) Stomberg has been a faculty member at Techne Music every year since its founding in 2013. His extensive chamber music experience and teaching skills have been a valuable part of the growth of Techne Music, helping to make it the highly competitive festival it has become today.

Larry will perform "Verklärte Nacht" by Arnold Schoenberg with violinists Juliette Kang and Timothy Schwarz, violists Sheila Browne and Angela Rubin, and cellist Thomas Kraines. It is not his first performance of this masterpiece; in 2016 he performed it at the Techne Music Festival with almost the same musicians (Molly Carr, currently violist in the Juilliard Quartet, was our viola faculty in 2016; she played first viola in the 2016 performance)

Come hear Larry and all of the wonderful Techne Music faculty and students on Thursday, June 13th at 7:00 in Peter Hall/Moravian University. www.TechneMusic.org

Hailed for “lyrical yet impassioned interpretation” (Fanfare Magazine), cellist Lawrence Stomberg is currently a member of the Philadelphia-based Halcyon Consort, after thirteen years as the cellist of the Serafin String Quartet. A busy recitalist, Stomberg has in recent seasons performed the cycle of the six Suites by J.S. Bach and the complete Cello/Piano works of Beethoven, premiers of works by composers Kirk O’Riordan, David Osbon, Richard Prior, and Ketty Nez, and musical outreach projects, notably Bach in Wilmington with crossover duo Swift Rose. He has recorded for the Centaur, Naxos, Albany, Ravello, and VAI labels. Stomberg serves as Professor of Cello at the University of Delaware School of Music. He is a frequent masterclass guest at schools across the United States.

05/13/2024

2024 Techne Music Festival Student Spotlight!
Alexander Covelli, violin

Alexander Covelli has attended Techne Music numerous times. This year he will perform Beethoven's "Harp" Quartet, Op. 74 with violinist Ryan Keith, violist Chris Gokelman, and cellist Ben Holcomb. Come hear Alex and all of the talented Techne students and faculty on Thursday, June 13th at 7:00 in Peter Hall/Moravian University. www.TechneMusic.org

Violinist Alexander Covelli holds his Bachelor of Music from Rowan University, studying with Timothy Schwarz, and Master of Music from the Boyer College of Music at Temple University, studying with Aisha Dossumova. He has studied chamber music with renowned pianist Lambert Orkis, Philadelphia Orchestra cellist Udi Bar-David, and has played in masterclasses for esteemed artists such as Kim Kashkashian, Todd Phillips, Peter Winograd, and the Dover Quartet.

Covelli has performed at the Kimmel Center and Jazz at Lincoln Center, as well as internationally in Italy and Norway. Additionally, he has participated in numerous festivals including Virtuoso & Belcanto in Lucca, Italy, Klassik I Sentrum in Grimstad, Norway, the Orvieto Festival of Strings in Orvieto, Italy, and Techne Music in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Covelli enjoys performing as a recitalist, chamber musician, and orchestral player, currently serving as a substitute violinist with Symphony in C. Outside of the classical genre, he has played violin in alternative rock and jazz settings, including experience in recordings with fellow music artists.

In addition to performing, Covelli is a passionate and enthusiastic teacher, and outside of music, an avid photographer and lover of the outdoors.

05/09/2024

2024 Techne Music Festvial
Faculty Spotlight!
Marianne Gythfeldt, clarinet

On rare occasion, Techne Music accepts an ensemble that is not exclusively string players. This year, a trio formed by Stephanie Bonk (violin), Kelsi Doolittle (clarinet) and Owen Dodds (piano) - all DMA students at Stony Brook University - were accepted to Techne Music. Techne immediately reached out to Marianne Gythfeldt, one of the leading clarinets in the USA, to come to Techne as a guest faculty member. We are delighted she will be joining us this year!

Clarinetist Marianne Gythfeldt has played a central role in the music scene of New York City for three decades. Winning the Naumburg chamber music award with New Millennium Ensemble in 1995 launched a wide-ranging career as clarinetist with Ensemble Sospeso, SEM ensemble, Absolute Ensemble, Collide-o-scope Music, Da Capo Chamber Players, Zephyros Winds and Talea Ensemble. Academic positions include William Paterson University, the University of Delaware and Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music. Ms. Gythfeldt’s recent solo CD release on the New Focus label was called “…stunning, Gythfeldt is setting a new standard for her instrument here.”

05/07/2024

Techne 2024 Student Spotlight!
Chris Gokelman, viola

Chris Gokelman will perform Beethoven's monumental "Harp" Quartet, Op. 74 with cellist Ben Holcomb and violinists Ryan Keith and Alex Covelli. This is Chris' first year attending Techne Music. Come hear Chris and all of the talented Techne students and faculty on Thursday, June 13th at 7:00 in Peter Hall/Moravian University. www.TechneMusic.org

Violist Chris Gokelman is pursuing his DMA at the Cleveland Institute of Music under the tutelage of Jeffrey Irvine and Lynne Ramsey. An avid performer, he has won several competitions, played in numerous festivals, and has extensive orchestral experience, recently serving as guest principal violist of the Amarillo Symphony and subbing with the San Antonio Philharmonic and Austin Symphony orchestras. He is passionate about community engagement through music and about exploring & performing works written by underperformed and underrepresented composers. Chris previously studied with Peter Slowik at Oberlin Conservatory, having graduated from the double-degree program.

05/06/2024

Techne 2024 Student Spotlight!
Hao Yuan, violin
Hao Yuan will perform String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat by Brahms and String Quartet Op. 18, No. 6 by Beethoven with violinist Faith Borkowski, violist Kyran Littlejohn, and cellist Carly Fulcher. Come hear Hao and the other wonderful musicians at Techne Music on June 13 at 7:00 in Peter Hall, Moravian University. This is Ha's first year attending Techne Music.

Hao Yuan is a violinist, violist, and student-centered instructor. With over 6 thousand subscribers worldwide, her performing and teaching videos resonate with diverse audiences during the pandemic. Having graced stages across China, America, Germany, Switzerland, and South Korea. She has collaborated with illustrious musicians like Sara Chang, Rico Saccani, and David Gringas, among others. Hao earned a bachelor's degree from the Tianjin Conservatory of Music in China and graduated with distinction from the Hamburg Conservatory of Music in Germany. Currently, she is pursuing her Professional Performance Diploma at the Manhattan School of Music under the guidance of Professor Peter Winograd.

05/05/2024

Techne 2024 Student Spotlight!
Ryan Keith, violin

Ryan will perform Beethoven's String Quartet Op. 74 "The Harp" with violinist Alex Covelli, violist Chris Gokelman, and cellist Ben Holcomb on June 13th at 7:00 in Peter Hall at Moravian University. This is Ryan's first year attending Techne Music.

Ryan Keith is a violinist, composer and teacher currently residing in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. A Kansas native, Ryan began playing the violin at the age of ten through his school’s orchestra program. A passionate chamber musician, Ryan has previously attended the Chamber Music at the Barn summer festival in Kansas and the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in Vermont. Ryan currently serves as a Lead Teaching Artist in the Winston-Salem Symphony’s P.L.A.Y. Music program, an El-Sistema inspired string education program serving Winston-Salem’s at-risk youth. Ryan earned his Bachelor of Music from Kansas State University, before moving east to earn his Master of Music from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. His primary teachers include Cora Cooper and Kevin Lawrence.

05/04/2024

Introducing the 2024 Techne Music Festival! With an acceptance rate of only 15% this year, the musicians listed below come from top conservatories in the USA, many in MM or DMA programs. We will feature individual performers in the coming days. Don't miss these amazing musicians in the final concert on June 13, 2024 at 7:00 in Bethlehem, PA! www.TechneMusic.org

Stephanie Bonk, violin
Stony Brook University

Faith Borkowski, violin
Manhattan School of Music

Alex Covelli, violin
Temple University

Owen Dodds, piano
Stony Brook University

Kelsi Doodlittle, clarinet
Stony Brook University

Carly Fulcher, cello
Florida State University

Chris Gokelman, viola
Cleveland Institute of Music

Ben Holcomb, cello
University of Delaware

Ryan Keith, violin
University of North Carolina School of the Arts

Iuliia (Julia) Kuzmina, violin
Temple University

Kyran Littlejohn, viola
Manhattan School of Music

Angela Rubin, viola
Eastman School of Music

Julian Shively, cello
McGill University

Michael Wu, violin
Frost School of Music

Hao Yuan, violin
Manhattan School of Music

Techne 2017: June 21-25, Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA. Dedicated to the highest level of chamber music, both in performances and education.

04/07/2024

There is still one more week to apply for the 2024 Techne Music Festival! In addition to amazing coaching, selected students will have an opportunity to perform with the 2024 Techne Music Faculty, and be invited to perform on established concert series in PA and NJ during the 2024 - 2025 season. Techne is a tuition free festival! Don't miss the amazing opportunity to enhance your chamber music skills. www.TechneMusic.org

String Music Camp and Concert Series

06/16/2023

We're still glowing from the incredible five days of Techne 2023 last week. Here are some shots of student groups, during their performances for the Jennifer Frautschi masterclass. (📷: Techne's own Larry Stomberg)

06/10/2023

Sibelius quartet dress rehearsal- students from Eastman, McGill, U. Miami- Frost, Rowan