Benjamin Zander

Benjamin Zander
Zander in 2009
Background information
Born (1939-03-09) 9 March 1939
Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England
Genres Classical Music
Occupation(s) Conductor, composer, music director, arranger
Instruments Cello, piano
Years active 1980–present
Website www.benjaminzander.com

Benjamin Zander (born 9 March 1939 in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England) is an English conductor, who is currently the musical director of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.

History

Benjamin Zander was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England. His parents had emigrated from Berlin in 1937 to escape the Nazis, and raise their four children: Michael, Luke, Angelica, and Benjamin. Benjamin Zander started to compose music at the age of nine. Several of his compositions came to the attention of composer Benjamin Britten, who invited the Zander family to spend three summers in Aldeburgh, England, the beautiful seaside village in Suffolk where he lived. Benjamin Zander took lessons with Benjamin Britten and became a student of theory of Britten's amanuensis and assistant, Imogen Holst, daughter of composer Gustav Holst.

Early life

Benjamin's main instrument was the cello. He began studying at the age of ten and became the youngest member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain at the age of twelve. He went as a boarder to Uppingham, one of England's leading public schools, as a music scholar at the age of thirteen and then to St. Paul's School in London so he could continue his cello studies with Herbert Withers. At the age of fifteen Benjamin became a student of the great Spanish cello virtuoso Gaspar Cassadó and moved to Florence and Siena, Italy for the next three years. He completed his cello studies at the State Conservatoire in Cologne, Germany where he also served as an assistant to Cassadó.

After living abroad for five years Benjamin returned to England and completed his A levels and entered University College London for a degree program in English literature, winning the University-wide English Literature Essay Prize. During his period of study at University he performed regularly as a professional cellist giving recitals and chamber music concerts with the King-Zander-Arieli Trio and teaching at the Yehudi Menuhin School for gifted children.

In 1965 he won a Harkness International Fellowship and travelled to the United States for graduate work at Brandeis University, Harvard University and with Leonard Shure and Ernst Oster in New York.

New England Conservatory

In 1967, Zander joined the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music and remained on the faculty until 2012. In July 2012 the New England Conservatory and Preparatory School conferred on him the title of Faculty Emeritus, acknowledging his significant contributions to the school over 45 years.[1] This followed him being fired in January 2012 for negligence amid allegations he had hired a videographer to record concerts, who had (with Zander's knowledge) previously served a prison sentence for sexual assault of a minor.[2] Zander later acknowledged that hiring the videographer, Peter Benjamin, without informing school administrators was a "significant oversight." The videographer was never accused of any wrongdoing while at the school.

Boston Philharmonic

Benjamin Zander is now the Conductor and Music Director of the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, a brand new youth orchestra in Boston composed of both high school and college age students. The BPYO rehearses at The Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston's South End. Their premiere performance took place in Symphony Hall on 25 November 2012. On the program was Strauss' Ein Heldenleben, Beethoven's Egmont Overture, and Elgar's Cello Concerto with Alisa Weilerstein as soloist. BPYO's first international tour took place the summer of 2013 as the entire orchestra visited The Netherlands to play Mahler's Second Symphony in the Concertgebouw.

Personal life

Benjamin and Patricia Zander were married in 1966 and their daughter Jessica was born a few years later. Jessica and her husband David Tomaszewski have two daughters, Maya, born in April 2001 and Vivian-Rose, born in April 2003.

Benjamin and Rosamund Stone Zander have been married since 1981. They work closely together on many projects and live in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Rosamund's children, Alexandra and Evan Bageris, also live in Massachusetts.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "After discord, harmonious encore for Benjamin Zander" Geoff Edgers, "Boston Globe" and boston.com, 14 November 2012
  2. ↑ "'This is a nightmare for all of us,'" Geoff Edgers, [Boston Globe and boston.com, 5 February 2012.
  3. ↑ http://www.benjaminzander.com/bio.php

Interviews

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