Violinist Benjamin Hoffman has performed to critical acclaim throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania, appearing in Carnegie Hall and David Geffen Hall (New York), Disney Hall (Los Angeles), the Philharmonie Berlin, the Wiener Konzertverein (Vienna), the Seoul Arts Center, and the National Centre for the Performing Arts (Beijing). He has collaborated with many of the world’s preeminent musicians, such as Yo-Yo Ma, Soovin Kim, Yura Lee, Wolfram Christ, and Gary Hoffman, among others. Appearances at summer music festivals include the Atlantic Music Festival, Yellow Barn, Aspen, Music Academy of the West, Chamber Music Northwest, and the Ojai Music Festival.

Alongside pianist Irene Kim, Benjamin is a founding member of the Brightfeather Duo (brightfeatherduo.com), with whom he recently gave a concert tour of California, Malaysia, and Thailand premiering contemporary Malaysian and American works. He is also a founding member of the Webern Quartet (webernquartet.com), a string quartet dedicated to the works of the Second Viennese School in addition to contemporary premieres and standard repertoire. The Webern Quartet recently returned from a residency in Vienna, Austria, during which they were the youngest group ever to perform all four Schoenberg string quartets on the same day, and will be releasing their first album during the 2024-25 season on the Etcetera label.

Benjamin has appeared as a guest violinist with the New York Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, and the San Diego Symphony, and has performed under the batons of conductors such as Simon Rattle, Edo de Waart, Marin Alsop, John Adams, and Peter Oundjian.

He is an enthusiastic concertmaster, having served extensively in that capacity with the New Haven Symphony, the Eastern Connecticut Symphony, the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, the Sichuan Orchestra of China, and the Yale Philharmonia. As co-concertmaster of the conductorless Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, Benjamin led the groundbreaking ensemble for three seasons in repertoire such as Shostakovich Symphony No. 5, Debussy La Mer, and Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3.

One of the things he is most proud of is connecting underserved young musicians with opportunities across the country and the world. He has been a faculty member for eight consecutive years at the YOLA National Festival, a two-week intensive El Sistema-based workshop led by Gustavo Dudamel, and in 2017 founded the Young Composers Initiative of the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, bringing composition lessons to elementary school-aged children throughout Los Angeles that would not otherwise have access to music lessons.

Benjamin studied at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and the Universität der Künste Berlin, and received his degrees from Indiana University (BM) and the Yale School of Music (MM and DMA). His principal mentors were Latica Honda-Rosenberg, Alexander Kerr, Jorja Fleezanis, and Ani Kavafian.

Dr. Emily Freeman Brown, Director of Orchestral Activities
Eden Treado, Allana Bogan, Bo Young Kang, Master’s Assistant Conductors
Allana Bogan, Orchestra Librarian

Violin I
Autumn Kuntz, co-concertmaster
Mary Jo Johnson, co-concertmaster
Gracie Hayes
Benjamin Christiaansen
Mahlia Proctor
Jessica Pytel
Leah Mellinger
Antonia Suarez Gomez
Jenna Mikuls

Violin II
Federico Orlando*
Alexandra Jones*
Ayanna Grant
Ryley Amos
Yeonsuk Jung
Diego Ortiz
Courtney Spencer
Caylee Farley

Viola
Jaylon Hayes-Keller*
Jake Weil*
Samuel Atkinson
Natalie Holstine
Madison Estep
Zavion Henderson Wimbley
Christopher Cecere
Lexam Andersen
Bryce Kline
Sierra Wood

Cello
Hayley Currin*
Joshua Lyphout*
Joey Miller
Calem Nagy
Jackson Cook
Caitlin Slusarski
James Reed
Dominic Gomez
Aubrey Hemming
Sam Gibb-Randall
Emily Ward
Jacob Burger
Georgia Ray

Bass
Eliana Kornowa*
Natalie Fry*
Daniel Yang
Ryan Spiess

Flute/Piccolo
Emily Fluty*
Halie O’Loughlin*
Kiersten Swihart
Ashey Busch

Oboe/English Horn
Leah Piccirillo*
Michael Berchert*

Clarinet/Bass Clarinet
Justin Brown*
Haley Harrison*
Sebastian Trevino

Bassoon/Contrabassoon
Owen Polkinghorn*
Annie Lombard*
Cruz Stock      

Horn
Nathan Stricker*
Bird Birmingham*
Elena Maria Farmer
Hannah Oprea
Ethan Hupp

Trumpet
Tyrone Williamson*
Brandon Ising*
Matthew Pileski
Ariana Coan

Trombone
Jeremy Ong*
Jackson Kuphal
Arryn Meeker, bs

Tuba
Sakda Pharchumcharna*
Connor Remington*

Percussion/Timpani
Christopher Harris*
Kyle Bergler
Emma Zemancik
Nicholas Bahr
SUBS: Jacob Koch, Evan McCord  

Harp
Holly Maxx
Julie Buzzelli+

Piano/Celeste
Parker Graham Olson

*section principal or co-principal
+Faculty