Benjamin Hopkins

Biography

Pianist Benjamin Hopkins has performed across Europe and North America, including debuts at Festival de Luis Vega in Spain, New York City’s Merkin Hall and Mexico’s Festival del Lago. He holds a doctor of musical arts degree from the University of British Columbia (UBC), where he was a member of the groundbreaking Public Scholars Initiative and appeared as concerto soloist with the UBC Symphony Orchestra in three consecutive seasons. Hopkins is a two-time national prize winner at the National Federation of Music Clubs Young Artist Auditions and won the Grand Prize at the inaugural Silverman Piano Competition.

Much in demand as a chamber musician, Hopkins has appeared with members of the Rochester Philharmonic, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He frequently collaborates with cellist Annie Jacobs-Perkins of Ensemble Modern and Trio Brontë. A strong advocate for living composers, he has commissioned solo piano works by Joel Thompson, Peter S. Shin and Kimberly Osberg and premiered chamber music by Balinese gamelan composer Dewa Alit.

Hopkins has given masterclasses at the University of Arizona, the Chopin Academy of Music and North Dakota State University. He has guest lectured at the University of British Columbia, University of California, Irvine, and Nazareth University and for the American Matthay Association. Prior to joining the Setnor School of Music, he held faculty positions at Arizona Western College and The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) College of the Performing Arts. He holds three degrees in piano performance from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, where he completed extensive studies in piano literature and pedagogy with Stewart Gordon. His teachers include Lucinda Carver, Julian Martin, Corey Hamm and Brian Preston.

Education

• D.M.A., University of British Columbia
• M.M., B.M., University of Southern California