Donald Spieth Memorial Awards & Concerts
These concerts are in loving memory of conductor and Techne board member Donald Spieth. Each year one or two ensembles from the Techne Music Festival will be chosen to perform at these events in the following season.
2024 Concerts
Béla Trio
Owen Dodds, piano / Kelsi Doolittle, clarinet / Stephanie Bonk, violin
Performing works by Bartók, Khachaturian, Janáček, Stravinsky, and Owen Dodds
Saturday, October 5, 2024 at 2:00 PM
Old Chapel of Central Moravian Church
Heckewelder Place and Church Street, Bethlehem, PA 18018
Sunday, October 6, 2024 at 3:00 PM
MacDowell Series
19 Pocono Road, Denville, NJ 07834
2025 Concerts
Marinho Quartet
Ryan Keith and Alexander Covelli, violins / Chris Gokelman, viola / Benjamin Holcomb, cello
Performing works by Beethoven, Haydn, and Stephen Koncz
Sunday, February 16, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Peter Hall at Moravian University
342 Main Street / Bethlehem, PA 18018
Meridian Quintet
Miriam Smith and Juan Villanueva, violins / Julia Kuzmina, viola / Julian Shively, cello / Yanzhima Tsybikova, pianoPerforming works by Piazzolla, Rimsky-Korsakov and Dvořák
Saturday, October 4, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Old Chapel of Central Moravian Church
Heckewelder Place and Church Street/ Bethlehem, PA 18018
Sunday, October 5, 2025 @ 3:00 PM
MacDowell Series
19 Pocono Road / Denville, NJ 07834
Béla Trio
The Béla Trio is quickly distinguishing themselves as unique interpreters of diverse 20th and
21st century repertoire. Composed of violinist Stephanie Bonk, clarinetist Kelsi Doolittle, and pianist
Owen Dodds, the trio has gained recognition as part of the Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber Players and
as semifinalists in the Coltman Chamber Music Competition. They were recently invited to attend the
Techne Music Festival, where they were recipients of the Donald Spieth Memorial Award. The Béla
Trio formed at the doctoral program at Stony Brook University and its members currently reside and
perform in New York.
Marinho Quartet
Founded in 2024 at the Techne Music Festival in Bethlehem, PA, the Marinho Quartet was named winner of
the 2024 Donald Spieth Memorial Award after working closely together for only five days. They have had
the opportunity to perform in masterclasses and work with renowned chamber music artists such as Peter
Winograd of the American String Quartet and Thomas Kraines of the Daedalus Quartet. They additionally
had the privilege to work closely with Techne Music's esteemed faculty, including Sheila Browne,
Timothy Schwarz, and Lawrence Stomberg.
Meridian Quintet
The newly formed Meridian Quintet brings together five accomplished musicians from the United States, Russia, Colombia, and Canada to create a unique and brilliant sound, informed by music across the meridian, yet steeped in classical tradition. The ensemble was founded at Techne Music Festival under the mentorship of Timothy Schwarz, Todd Phillips, Sheila Browne, Alan Stepansky, and Lawrence Stomberg, where the group came together to share their unified love of chamber music.
Violinist Miriam Smith is a passionate chamber musician from Buffalo, NY. Winner of several solo and chamber competitions, she has performed in venues across the US. Recently she graduated with her bachelor's degree in music performance from the Lynn Conservatory, where she studied with Guillermo Figueroa. Juan Felipe Villanueva Contreras, violinist and violist from Ibagué, Colombia is an active teacher and performer, dedicated to sharing his passion for music. Holding a degree from Rowan University under the guidance of Dr. Timothy Schwarz, he has appeared as soloist with the Rowan University Symphony Orchestra, performing concertos by Bruch and Tchaikovsky. Julian Shively is a Montreal-based cellist and pianist, graduating from McGill University with a double degree in classical cello and jazz piano. His short musical career has taken him across the globe, from principal cello positions in traveling chamber orchestras across Western Europe and China to solo performances with several orchestras including Greater Bridgeport Symphony and the Danbury Symphony. Julia Kuzmina is a violinist and violist based in Philadelphia trained in the Russian tradition. She studied violin with Edward Schmieder and viola with Kerri Ryan at Temple University, where she served as concertmaster, first associate concertmaster, and principal violist of the Symphony and Opera Orchestras. A former first violinist with the Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, Julia has performed in Russia, China, Korea, and across North America. She is currently also a member of the Elegance String Quartet. Pianist Yanzhima Tsybikova is an avid performer and prizewinner of numerous international competitions in Spain, Italy, Russia, and the United States. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance at Temple University, studying with Sara Davis Buechner and Lambert Orkis.