Benjamin Walter Bowman (born September 20, 1979) is an American-Canadian

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist. The

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

and incoming Music Director

Yannick Nézet-Séguin Yannick Nézet-Séguin, CC (; born Yannick Séguin;David Patrick Stearns, "Nezet-Seguin signs Philadelphia Orchestra contract". ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', 19 June 2010. 6 March 1975) is a Canadian ( Québécois) conductor and pianist. He ...

appointed Bowman as

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

as of the 2018-19 season, after a successful one-year term in 2017-18; he shares his role with

David Chan David Chan is an American violinist, conductor, and a concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He is one of the most sought-after violinists of his generation. He is a prizewinner at the International Tchaikovsky Competition, the Inter ...

. Bowman was Grammy-nominated in 2016 for his recording with the ARC (Artists of the Royal Conservatory) Ensemble 'Chamber Works of Jerzy Fitelberg' on the Chandos label. He has performed to critical acclaim throughout North America, Europe and Asia. He is a member or frequent guest artist for leading

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

ensembles internationally, including the twice

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-nominated ARC Ensemble (Artists of

The Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto Con ...

Art of Time Ensemble Art of Time Ensemble is a Toronto-based musical collective of leading Canadian musicians from the worlds of jazz and classical music. Composed of classical, jazz and pop musicians, Art of Time Ensemble is known for exploring the intersection of ...

, and Leondari Ensemble. Bowman was featured on the 2013

Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods *Juno (film), ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Ju ...

-winning album ''Levant'' and the 2011 Juno-nominated disc ''Armenian Chamber Music'' with the Amici Chamber Ensemble. Until 2019, he was the concertmaster of the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

orchestra (as of October 2014). He is an ensemble member of

Orchestra of St. Luke's The Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) is an American chamber orchestra based in New York City, formed in 1974. Orchestra of St. Luke’s presents over 70 concerts, programs, and events in a variety of diverse musical genres every season, including an ...

. Bowman's performances have been recorded for radio broadcast in Canada with the CBC, in the USA, the UK, Poland, Hungary, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Korea. His discography includes recent solo and chamber-music releases on the RCA Red Seal, ATMA Classique, and Innova labels. Bowman received his Bachelor of Music degree from the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

in Philadelphia. In his spare time, he also composes and arranges music, and writes electronic music as a hobby.

Education and early career

Bowman was born in

Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 38th-most pop ...

. He moved to

Brandon, Manitoba Brandon () is the second-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the southwestern corner of the province on the banks of the Assiniboine River, approximately west of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, and east of the ...

, in 1981 where he started studying violin at the age of five. He studied with violinist Francis Chaplin from the age of nine until Chaplin's death in December 1993. Bowman then pursued his studies at

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

pre-college under the tutelage of Sally Thomas for one year before moving to Toronto to study with violinist/conductor

David Zafer David Zafer (April 2, 1934 – April 20, 2019) was a Canadian violinist and pedagogue. He was born in London, England, and moved to Canada in 1947. Background David Zafer studied with Elie Spivak and Albert Pratz at The Royal Conservatory of Mu ...

. At the age of 17 Bowman was invited to study at the

in Philadelphia, where he studied with Aaron Rosand

Recordings

*''Two Roads to Exile:

Braunfels Braunfels () is a town in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. It is located on the German Timber-Frame Road. Geography Location The climatic spa of Braunfels lies at a height of some 100 m above the Lahn valley. It is 9 km southwest ...

: String Quintet – Busch: String Sextet'' – ARC Ensemble, Benjamin Bowman,

Erika Raum Erika Raum is a Canadian violinist. Biography Raum began playing professionally at age 12. She took first place at the 1992 Joseph Szigeti International Violin Competition in Budapest as well as the award for best interpretation of a Mozart co ...

, Marie Bérard,

Steven Dann Steven Dann (born December 27, 1953) is a Canadian violist. Early years Dann was born in Burnaby, British Columbia. He played the violin until 1970, when he switched to the viola. He began studying with Lorand Fenyves in Toronto in 1972, and con ...

, Carolyn Blackwell, Bryan Epperson, David Hetherington. Producer:

David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ' ...

. Recorded at

Koerner Hall. Label:

RCA Red Seal Records RCA Red Seal is a classical music label whose origin dates to 1902 and is currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment. History The first "Gramophone Record Red Seal" discs were issued in 1901.Sony Masterworks Sony Music Masterworks (Sony Masterworks) is a record label, the result of a restructuring of Sony Music's classical music division. Before the acquisition of Bertelsmann's shares in the former Sony BMG, the label was known as Sony BMG Masterwor ...

. April 2010 *''Armenian Chamber Music'' – Amici Chamber Ensemble, ft. Benjamin Bowman, Isabel Bayrakdarian, Steven Dann. Recorded at

Glenn Gould Studio The Canadian Broadcasting Centre, also known as the CBC Toronto Broadcast Centre, is an office and studio complex located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It serves as the main broadcast and master control point for the Canadian Broadcasting Corpora ...

Toronto. Label:

ATMA Classique ATMA Classique is a Canadian record label based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1994 by Johanne Goyette, the company has close to 600 titles in its catalogue and distributes in over 25 countries and on the internet. Several recordings released by ...

. February 2010 **2011

nominated *''Nothing Left to Destroy'' – by MC Maguire, (''The Discofication of the Mongols'', Concerto for Violin & CPU): Benjamin Bowman. Label:

Innova Recordings Innova Recordings is the independent record label of the non-profit American Composers Forum based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1982 to document the winners of the McKnight Fellowship offered by its parent organization, the Minneso ...

. September 2011 *''Levant'' – Amici Chamber Ensemble, ft. Benjamin Bowman, Steven Sitarski, Steven Dann. Recorded at Glenn Gould Studio Toronto. Label: ATMA Classique. October 2012 **2013 Juno winner *''

Paul Ben-Haim Paul Ben-Haim (or Paul Ben-Chaim, Hebrew: פאול בן חיים) (5 July 1897 – 14 January 1984) was an Israeli composer. Born Paul Frankenburger in Munich, Germany, he studied composition with Friedrich Klose and he was assistant conductor t ...

: Chamber Works'' – ARC Ensemble, Benjamin Bowman, Erika Raum, Marie Bérard, Steven Dann, Bryan Epperson, Joaquin Valdepenas, Dianne Werner, David Louie. Producers: David Frost, Ralph Couzens. Recorded at

Koerner Hall. Label:

Chandos Records Chandos Records is a British independent classical music recording company based in Colchester. It was founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens.Canadian Broadcasting Centre The Canadian Broadcasting Centre, also known as the CBC Toronto Broadcast Centre, is an office and studio complex located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It serves as the main broadcast and master control point for the Canadian Broadcasting Corpora ...

's Glenn Gould Studio. Label: Azica Records. June 2015 *''Chamber Works of

Jerzy Fitelberg Jerzy Fitelberg (May 20, 1903 – April 25, 1951) was a Polish-American composer."Jerzy Fitelberg, 48, A Polish Composer," ''New York Times'' (April 27, 1951), p. 23. Biography Son of Grzegorz Fitelberg, Jerzy was born in Warsaw. He first studi ...

'' – ARC Ensemble, Benjamin Bowman, Erika Raum, Marie Bérard, Steven Dann, Bryan Epperson, Joaquin Valdepenas, and Kara Huber. Producer: David Frost. Recorded at

Koerner Hall. Label: Chandos Records. October 2015 **2016 Juno nominated **2016 Grammy nominatedConservatory of Music News
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Sources

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowman, Benjamin 1979 births Living people American male violinists Musicians from Brandon, Manitoba Curtis Institute of Music alumni People from Urbana, Illinois Canadian classical violinists American classical violinists Male classical violinists Metropolitan Opera people Concertmasters Orchestra leaders American classical musicians Canadian classical musicians 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers Canadian male violinists and fiddlers 21st-century American violinists