Performer
Ben Dettelback was appointed Principal Trombone of The Syracuse Orchestra in 2019 and previously served as Principal Trombone of the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra (Ithaca, NY) from 2018-2024. He has has also had the pleasure of performing with groups such as the Buffalo Philharmonic, Rochester Philharmonic/Oratorio Society, Skaneateles Festival, West Point Band, Princeton Symphony, American Institute of Musical Study in Graz, Austria, and Hohenfels Trombone Quartet.
Educator
Ben has enjoyed serving as Instructor of Trombone at Syracuse University’s Setnor School of Music since 2022. Ben is also the Founder and Director of The Setnor Slides Trombone Ensemble. The Setnor Trombone Studio is made up of a variety of undergraduate and graduate majors including music performance, music education, sound recording technology, music industry, composition, and more.
Learn more about SU and the Setnor Slides here.
A dedicated educator in Upstate NY for the past 10 years, Ben’s private students have received multiple perfect scores at the NYSSMA solo competitions and accepted to Summer Festivals such as the Interlochen Low Brass Institute, Eastman Summer Trombone Institute, Capital Region Summer Trombone Institute and more.
Full Bio
Ben Dettelback is currently Principal Trombone of The Syracuse Orchestra and Instructor of Trombone at the Syracuse University Setnor School of Music. Ben also served as Principal Trombone of the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra (Ithaca, NY) from 2018-2024 and has performed with groups such as the Buffalo Philharmonic, Rochester Philharmonic/Oratorio Society, Skaneateles Festival, West Point Band, Princeton Symphony, and American Institute of Musical Study in Graz, Austria.
Ben has appeared twice as soloist with The Syracuse Orchestra performing Tan Dun's Trombone Concerto "Three Muses in Video Games" in January 2026 on the Masterworks Subscription Series and the final movement of L. Grondahl’s Trombone Concerto during the 2022-23 Season. Ben can be heard alongside Brad Kerns, David Seder, and Clint Woltering on the 2024 trombone quartet album titled “Goldberg Variations, BMW 988” as well as the 2020 Naxos American Classics recording “Bernstein Songfest” with the National Orchestral Institute and James Judd. He was also named a finalist in the 2018 International Trombone Associations Alto Trombone Competition.
In addition to his teaching duties at Setnor, Ben is the founder and director of the Setnor Slides Trombone Ensemble and has presented masterclasses at Ithaca College, Binghamton University, and Colgate University. Ben also served on the orchestral faculty of the 2023 Varna International Music Academy.
Ben received a Bachelor of Music and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music followed by a Master of Music from Yale University where he studied with Larry Zalkind and Scott Hartman respectively. Ben is currently completing a Doctor of Musical Arts back at Eastman.
When not playing trombone, Ben can be found hanging out with his cat, Kimchi.