BIOGRAPHY
Gretchen Egen has been playing the cello since 1973. In 1980 she was a soloist with the Philharmonia Orchestra of Tucson, under the baton of Laszlo Veres, performing the Lalo Cello Concerto. Two years later she was soloist once again with the same orchestra, this time performing David Popper's Hungarian Rhapsody. In 1986 Gretchen received a Bachelor of Music in cello performance at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where she studied with Gordon Epperson. She completed a Master of Music in cello performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under Bonnie Hampton in 1988.
In the summers of 1987, 1988,1990 and 1991 Gretchen was a chamber music coach and theory instructor for teenagers between the ages of 12 and 18 at the Sequoia Chamber Music Workshop in Arcata, CA, located at Humboldt State University. Since 1995 Gretchen has also been a coach for adult chamber music workshops at California State University at Hayward sponsored by Chamber Musicians of Northern California.
In the summer of 1989 she attended the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival based in northern West Germany. Here she played cello under the batons of many great conductors including Leonard Bernstein, Christoph Eschenbach and Semyon Bychkov. Rehearsals were located at Herrenhaus Salzau, a castle in the country about 15 miles from Kiel. For two weeks the orchestra toured all over Europe with Leonard Bernstein. Starting in Hambourg, Germany the orchestra performed in Leningrad, East Berlin, West Berlin, Paris, Taormina (Sicily), Milan and then back to northern Germany in Neumeunster. Gretchen was in Europe the summer before the Wall came down between what then was East and West Germany.
From 1989 to 1998 Gretchen was principal cellist of the Santa Cruz County Symphony. She has also served as principal cellist with the Sacramento Philharmonic in the 1997/1998 season. In 1994 Gretchen performed the solo cello part in Corelli's "Christmas Concerto" with the Diablo Valley Philharmonic. From 1996-1998 Gretchen played in the Festival Orchestra at the Tahoe Summer Music Festival. In 1998 she performed in a small ensemble with members of the Metropolitan Opera of New York and Maestro Samuel Wong, conductor of the Honolulu Symphony and assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic. The cellist who was originally scheduled to perform in this ensemble was Mstislav Rostropovich. Also in 1998 Gretchen performed the Elgar Cello Concerto with the Kensington Symphony.
Gretchen currently teaches cello and free-lances extensively throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including cellist with the Women's Philharmonic, the Sacramento Philharmonic, the California Symphony, and the Fremont Symphony. With The Women's Philharmonic she participated in the recording of 3 CDs under the baton of JoAnn Falletta, and currently is working on a 4th CD, this time under the baton of Apo Hsu.
From 1996-1997 Gretchen played in the Red Vine Trio, an ensemble consisting of flute, cello and piano. Since 1998 Gretchen has played with the Del Sol String Quartet, which specialized in performances and educational programs. The quartet presents 20th century works on almost every program. A feature article appeared in the December 1998 issue of Strings magazine. In Spring of 1999 the quartet participated in the "Composer in the Schools" program, sponsored by the American Composers Forum. In October of 1999 the quartet will be traveling to Huntsville, Alabama to work in a one-week residency program.
Gretchen also plays with Caspita String Variations, a violin and cello duet that expands to larger ensembles as the need arises, and Trio d'Amore, a flute, violin and cello trio. Both of these music ensembles play for weddings and other special occasions. Presently she is arranging music for these ensembles. Film credits include her piano trio performing in the made-for-television movie, "Redwood Curtain," which aired on ABC in spring of 1995 and is now available on video.
In her free time Gretchen likes to be outdoors, hiking in the mountains, walking along the beach, and riding her bicycle. She also loves to travel, especially to Central and South America where she can practice speaking Spanish.