Roger Benedict
violist - conductor

Biography - Conducting

Roger Benedict’s wide-ranging career has encompassed work as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player, teacher and conductor.  In January 2002 he relocated from the UK to Australia, to take up positions of Principal Viola of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Director of the orchestra’s Fellowship Program.

His studies took him to the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and to the International Musicians’ Seminar at Prussia Cove.  A highly sought-after teacher himself, he was a Professor at the Royal Northern College of Music from 1997-2002, and is a Tutor to the European Union Youth Orchestra.  Roger Benedict is now Senior Lecturer at the Sydney Conservatorium, is on the resident faculty at the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne, and gives masterclasses worldwide.

In 1991, at the age of 29, Roger Benedict was appointed Principal Viola of the Philharmonia Orchestra, London.  He left the Philharmonia in 2000 to dedicate more time to solo work, chamber music and conducting, before accepting positions with the Sydney Symphony.  He is also regularly invited to perform as guest principal viola with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

As a viola soloist Roger Benedict has appeared with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Ulster Orchestra in the UK as well as the Sydney Symphony in Australia and the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa in Japan, and his performances have been broadcast worldwide. With the Sydney Symphony he gave performances of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante in 2002 and 2004, Berlioz’s Harold in Italy  in 2005, and Andrew Ford’s The Unquiet Grave in 2007. He will perform Vaughan-Williams’ Flos Campi with the orchestra in October 2009.

As both recitalist and chamber musician Roger Benedict has appeared at London’s Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room, as well as at all the major festivals and concert series in the UK, and his chamber music partners have included such musicians as Lorin Maazel, Sir Simon Rattle, Louis Lortie and Leif Ove Andsnes.  In Australia he performs widely as a chamber musician, as a guest with such groups as the Macquarie Trio Australia and Sydney Soloists.

Alongside his career as an instrumentalist Roger Benedict has recently begun to establish himself as a conductor.  At the Sydney Conservatorium he has conducted the Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra, and also conducts concerts each year at the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne. For the Sydney Symphony he conducted the Playerlink program in 2002, and a series of education concerts in 2005.  In March 2006 he conducted two concerts with the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra, and in 2007 appeared in New Zealand with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, conducting their Summer Orchestral Program and the final of the National Performers Competition. He is recognised widely as an orchestral trainer through his work with ensembles such as the European Union Youth Orchestra and the Australian Youth Orchestra. In November 2008 he will conduct, in Sydney, the first concert with a newly-formed orchestra made up of elite young professional Australian musicians.

As a conductor Roger Benedict’s repertoire is wide-ranging, with a broad selection of works from classical to contemporary, and including a comprehensive survey of twentieth century music.

For more information and examples of programming ideas go to www.rogerbenedict.com

"A special and very talented musician…"
 Maestro  Christoph von Dohnanyi

“Roger Benedict’s high-energy, high-enjoyment performance…”
Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)

“Stand-out performances…”
Sun-Herald (Australia)

 Examples of programs Roger Benedict has conducted recently:

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