About
Benjamin Martin (b. 1998) is a composer and musical collaborator who takes great joy in writing bespoke works which serve to illuminate and amplify the unique gifts of a wide array of individual artists. While interested in all manner of expressive media, his love of the human voice and the written word is often the center of his compositional orbit.
Martin’s works have been commissioned and premiered by the VIVO Music Festival, the Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra, the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble, and University Theatre at the University of Chicago. He was also the recipient of the 2021 VIVO Innovation Grant. His music has been featured at New Music On The Point, Brevard Summer Music Festival, the EAMA Institute in Paris, and the Cortona Sessions for New Music.
Passionate about bringing new works to life, Benjamin has also served as the assistant conductor for Oberlin Opera Theater’s productions of Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up and Rachel Peters’ Wild Beast of the Bungalow, with libretti by Royce Vavrek. Most recently, Benjamin served as principal conductor in the world premiere of Melissa Dunphy and Jacqueline Goldfinger’s Alice Tierney at Opera Columbus in 2023.
Benjamin received a BM from Oberlin Conservatory in Composition with a minor in Vocal Performance. While attending, he was the recipient of the 2022 Walter E. Aschaffenburg prize in Composition. He is currently pursuing his PhD at the University of Chicago, where he studies with Augusta Read Thomas.