About Patina
Patina is a dynamic new brass ensemble composed of seasoned professional musicians. Audiences across the Valley of the Sun can hear Patina perform in concert and at all manner of public and private events and affairs. The musicians who compose Patina come from a diverse background but all share a deep passion for their music.
Patina is: Ben Goren, trumpet; Rogerio Araujo, trumpet; Gail Rittenhouse, horn; Bob Wittkamp, trombone; Dick Strobel, bass trombone; Nobe Yonekura, percussion; and Valory Strobel, organ and piano.
Ben Goren
Ben is the son of New York freelance trumpeter Gary Goren whose own successful career with such ensembles as the Symphony of the Air, the Bolshoi Touring Company, and the Royal Ballet sowed the seeds of trumpet in his son. Ben began studying the instrument after the family moved to California. He demonstrated his talent in honor bands and orchestras in the Sonoma and Napa Valley regions of California, as a student of his father. In the 1980s Ben began studies in festival classes with Charles Schlueter, then principal trumpet of the Boston Symphony. As a festival orchestra player, Ben was exposed to the guidance of such luminaries as Philip Myers and Warren Deck of the New York Philharmonic and Glenn Dodson of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He performed under such conductors as Dennis DeCoteau, of the San Francisco Ballet, and Henry Holt, who brought the first performance of Wagner’s Ring cycle to the Seattle Opera. In 1985, Ben enrolled at the first Summit Brass Seminar and won entry, receiving at the same time, an offer to attend ASU on a full Regent’s scholarship to study with Professor David Hickman. Ben has lived in the Valley ever since, playing in a variety of ensembles including the Arizona Repertory Orchestra, the Chandler Symphony, the Phoenix Community Symphony, the Scottsdale Baroque Orchestra, Salt River Brass, and Musica Nova. Ben has been a featured soloist on the piccolo trumpet with the Scottsdale Baroque Orchestra and the Four Seasons Orchestra and has performed with the Phoenix Symphony as a substitute member of the trumpet section.
Rogerio Araujo
Rogerio is a native of Brazil who immigrated to Virginia in the United States in his early teens. He attended Ithaca College in New York and graduated with a Bachelor of Music, concentration in Trumpet Performance in 1985. During this period, Rogerio was a featured soloist with the Alexandria Virginia Symphony Orchestra as their young artist solo competition winner. In 1982, Rogerio was awarded a grant from the Partners in America to teach trumpet at the Brasilia Conservatory of Music in Brasilia, Brasil. Rogerio was a finalist in the National Symphony Orchestra’s prestigious Young Soloist Competition and he performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC for Mstislav Rostropovich. In 1985, Rogerio proudly became an American citizen and moved to Arizona in 1994. He is a much-in-demand freelance player in stage and orchestral work in the Valley and is a long time performing member of Salt River Brass, having also served as president of that organization for two terms.
Gail Rittenhouse
Gail is the product of a very musical family. Both her parents were music educators and trombonists, and her siblings both play brass instruments as well. Raised in Ohio, Gail was schooled early in cornet, later also playing trombone and baritone. She began playing horn at age 13 and demonstrated considerable talent early, becoming a member of the Youngstown, Ohio Philharmonic organization in 1969, a position she held until 1972. In 1972, Gail was awarded the John Phillip Sousa award for outstanding musicianship. Gail’s advancement in horn came through training from James London, former hornist with the Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia, in 1970; and from Albert Schmitter, hornist with the Cleveland Orchestra, from 1969 through 1976. Gail attended Kent State University and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music. During this period she studied with David Whaley, later a hornist with the National Symphony Orchestra, and she performed with the Cleveland Women’s Orchestra and the Canton Symphony. Gail moved to Arizona in 1981 and has been a significant presence in freelance orchestral, stage, and chamber ensemble work in horn ever since, performing with Pro Musica, the Flagstaff Festival Orchestra, the Tempe Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Mesa Symphony, Salt River Brass, Symphony of the West Valley, Musica Nova, and a variety of brass and woodwind ensembles. Her stage work has been for such musical luminaries as Sammy Davis, Jr. Steve Allen, Wynona Judd, the Smothers Brothers, and Ray Charles to name only a few.
Bob Wittkamp
Bob earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Iowa, graduating in 1979. He engaged in doctoral studies from as a graduate assistant at Arizona State University and has lived in the Phoenix area since 1985. Bob commenced his playing career with the United States Army Field Band, the official touring band the US Army. Over his substantial career he has performed with the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestra De Sinfonica De Columbia, in Bogota, Columbia. While in Columbia, Bob was appointed Professor of Trombone and Low Brass at the Universidad Nacional de Columbia. He is a well known and much-in-demand player in a variety of orchestras and ensembles in the Valley, with experience in such groups as the Symphony of the West Valley, Musica Nova, and for such chamber ensembles as Posaunenchor, the Southwest Brass, and the Scottsdale Baroque Orchestra.
Arthur “Dick” Strobel
Dick was born in Iowa, and raised in Minnesota. Dick’s earliest training, by his father who was a member of the Lawrence Welk Orchestra in its earliest days, led him through honors bands and orchestras in early youth. Dick attended the University of Minnesota, taking instruction from Ronald Rickets, then second trombone with the Minnesota Orchestra. Thereafter, Dick received a scholarship for graduate studies with Robert Boyd (Cleveland Orchestra) at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In his second year, Dick made the conversion to Bass trombone and commenced studies with the legendary Edward Kleinhammer, bass trombonist of the Chicago Symphony. Dick won his first orchestral position with the Chicago Civic Orchestra, training orchestra for the Chicago Symphony, and a year later was named bass trombonist of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. Traveling to Southwest Germany, and later Vienna, Dick immersed himself in the world of orchestral opera performance and began his first studies as a contrabass trombonist. During his career, Dick has played under such conductors/composers as Carlo Maria Guilini, Aaron Copeland, Victor Borge Thomas Briccetti, Isaac Stern, and Loren Maazel to name a few. Dick retired in 1990 and moved to Arizona where, in 2006, he returned to trombone performance under the mentorship of Ralph Sauer, retired principal trombone of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Dick has performed throughout the valley as a freelance player with such orchestras and ensembles as Musica Nova, the Arizona Repertoire Orchestra, the Chandler Symphony, Posaunenchor, the Scottsdale Baroque Orchestra and the Phoenix Symphony.
Nobe Yonekura
Nobe, Patina’s percussionist, is an experienced musician who can be heard in the Valley performing not only on drums, but also on tuba. Nobe is currently a member of the tuba section of the Tempe Symphonic Wind Ensemble. He is also active with the Glendale Community College Percussion Ensemble’s Brazilian Samba Band, Mexican Marimba Band, and Taiko Glendale. A native of Japan, Nobe takes great pleasure in enlivening Patina performances with his authentic Taiko drum, as well as the European Renaissance tambourine and a variety of hand drums.
Valory Strobel
Valory was born in Minnesota of an artistic family and she engaged in piano and dance at an early age. In 1972 she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Music with honors from the University of Minnesota. Valory continued her composition studies under Rolf Scheurer, himself a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and whose training was directly descended from Johannes Brahms. Valory continued her postgraduate piano performance training under Mary Sauer, principal keyboardist of the Chicago Symphony, and later, Gellert Modos, now on the faculty of Illinois State University. Valory was principal keyboardist for the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and played harpsichord for the Indiana Chamber Orchestra. Valory is an active composer arranger, with works published by Cherry Classics in Vancouver, Canada. She is active in local chamber societies, is an accompanist for the Metropolitan Youth Symphony, and freelances for local orchestras in both rehearsal and concert formats, and performs for musicals, operetta and ballet applications.