CONSERVATORY of MUSIC
BEN WHITTIER
About
Ben Whittier is a saxophonist with a profound interest in performing, teaching, improvising, and composing diverse music and sounds. Since completing his Doctorate of Music degree from the University of Alberta in 2022, Ben has been actively performing and teaching music in the vibrant Edmonton community and at Edmonton universities. In addition to teaching and performing, Ben works passionately with New Music Edmonton and the Edmonton International Jazz Festival to present and support a variety of artists to audiences throughout Edmonton.
Lessons
Ben offers lessons in person downtown Edmonton at the Alberta College Campus, weekday afternoons and evenings for ages 10+, including adults learning the instrument for the first time. He teaches classical, experimental, jazz and popular styles for beginner to advanced levels.
Request lessons with Ben to discuss lesson availability and rates.
Education
- Doctor of Music: Saxophone Performance, University of Alberta (2022)
- Master of Music: Saxophone Performance, University of Northern Colorado (2016)
- Bachelor of Music: Saxophone Performance with a minor in Music Theory, University of the Pacific (2014)
Performances
- Chamber Music Collaborative Recital with Heather McGuire: Styles and Tonalities (2023)
- Doctor of Music Final Solo Recital: Silence for a Disturbed Yell (2022)
- University of Alberta Symphonic Orchestra: Prokofiev Lieutenant Kije (2022)
- Doctor of Music Lecture Solo Recital: Non-idiomatic Improvisation (2021)
- New Music Edmonton Summer Solstice Series: 3rd Creature: Collaboration with Dancer Kate Stashko (2021)
- University of Alberta Symphonic Orchestra: Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances (2018)
- Greeley Philharmonic: All George Gershwin Concert (2015)
Awards
- Doctoral Recruitment Scholarship
- Graduate Dean’s Scholarship, University of Colorado Health Scholarship
Boards and Committees
- Society for New Music in Edmonton, Elected President of the board in 2022