Dianne Wachsman Betkowski, Director and Cellist
Education
Dianne Wachsman Betkowski
Her cello studies continued at the University of Illinois with Gabriel Magyar, Ko Iwasaki and Warren Lash, culminating in a Bachelor of Music degree.
Dianne next attended Boston University, earning her Master of Music degree while studying cello with George Neikrug and composition with Marjorie Merryman. While at Boston University, she and the other members of her string quartet were featured in a composition masterclass presented by Leonard Bernstein, playing her “Movement for String Quartet.”
Performance
Dianne has participated in festivals and music camps including the Colorado Music Festival, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music School (Maine) and Aspen Music Festival. In Aspen, she was a principal cellist for several years and was chosen to participate in the Orchestral Leadership program with Ruben Gonzalez and Ron Leonard. Dianne’s other festivals include the Summer Academy of Music of Nice, France, and Burton Kaplan’s Magic Mountain Music Farm, practicing marathon retreat.
Dianne has performed, recorded and toured extensively with a number of orchestras, including the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Utah Symphony, the Honolulu Symphony and, as principal cellist, the Shreveport (Louisiana) Symphony. She has also performed with a number of chamber ensembles including the award-winning Lark Quartet of New York, the Apollo Quartet (Pittsburgh) and the Honolulu Symphony String Quartet.
Composition
As a composer, Dianne Betkowski has been published by MMB MUSIC, and her works have been performed by such groups as the Lafayette Quartet, the National Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, the St. Louis Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Amarillo Chamber Orchestra, and the Utah Symphony, among others.
Currently, Dianne is composing a work in progress for violin, cello and piano, portions of which have been performed by the Mariposa Trio (Denver) and Atomic Clock Music Events.
Teaching
Intermezzo Chamber Music Sessions is the realization of Dianne’s long-time dream to bring the joys of chamber music-playing to student musicians, whether they be professionally aspiring, or amateurs. Dianne enjoys teaching immensely. Her book, How To Get To Carnegie Hall: A Weekly Music Practice Schedule, is in its second printing.
Dianne Wachsman Betkowski has had the opportunity to work with numerous other musicians who have been of great influence to her — not only as a performer, but as a teacher and composer. They include Mark Johnson, Claus Adam, Roman Totenberg, Robert Silverman, Sylvia Rosenberg, Lucas Foss, Yehuda Hanani, Alan Harris, Anne Epperson, Michael Tippett, Eugene Lehner, the Tokyo String Quartet, Earl Carlyss and Bernard Michelin, among others.
Dianne lives in Denver, Colorado, with her husband, Adam, and their three children: Noelle, Simone and Elise. She is the founder and director of Denver Eclectic Concerts, which features unique artists with a variety of musical styles. She performs in a number of chamber ensembles including the Intermezzo Chamber Players, as well as the Parabola Trio and Atomic Clock Music Events. From time to time she also performs with the Colorado Symphony.