Benjamin Hedquist, DMA
Residential Faculty
Department: Performing Arts
Contact Information
Campus: Main
Office Number: CL-23
Email: benjamin.hedquist@gccaz.edu
Phone number: (623) 845-3170
Office Hours:
By appointment.
Biography
Biography
Ben Hedquist teaches jazz and popular music ensembles at Glendale Community College(GCC) as well as double bass and electric bass lessons. Prior to GCC, he served on the faculty at Arizona State University and as the Education Program Coordinator at The Nash, Phoenix’s jazz performance and education center. He holds a doctorate in double bass performance from ASU where he studied under double bass virtuoso Catalin Rotaru.
As a double bassist, Hedquist is known for his versatility and feels at home playing jazz or classical music. As a jazz bassist, Hedquist was a finalist in the 2016 European Double Bass Congress jazz bass competition held in Prague, Czech Republic. He performs regularly with Phoenix-based musicians such as Michael Kocour, Jeff Libman, Eric Rasmussen, and Dom Moio, and also with the adventurous jazz sextet Running from Bears. He has performed with a growing number of jazz notables, including Joe Lovano, Joe Locke, Peter Bernstein, George Garzone, Miguel Zenon, Glenn Zaleski, John Hollenbeck, Chris Cheek, Harold Maybern, John Clayton, and Lewis Nash.
As a classical musician, he has performed with the West Valley Symphony, Phoenix Opera, Central Wisconsin Symphony, Marquette Symphony, Fox Valley Symphony, and as Principal Bassist for the Musica Nova Orchestra. Hedquist has also performed in chamber concerts with the ASU String Faculty as part of the Stradivarius Concert Series at the Musical Instrument Museum, with violinist Mark Fewer (McGill University) as part of the Lotus Land Project and performs solo recitals throughout the Phoenix Metropolitan area. In 2016, he was placed as runner-up for the Arizona State University’s Concert of the Soloists Competition.
Ben Hedquist performs throughout the valley with his own projects including HedBand, Sleigher, and his own straight-ahead trio and quartet. He is also active in the popular music scene performing with Kim Weston, and the Lucky Devils. In 2019 Hedquist released his first album titled “The Mists of Uncertainty” featuring all original compositions.