Rebecca Benjamin, Violin

Biography

Rebecca Benjamin, 18 (in 2013), is the recipient of the 2012-2013 Sage Foundation Fellowship at the Music Institute of Chicago. She is a member of the Academy program for gifted pre-college musicians, studying violin privately with artist faculty member Almita Vamos.  She is currently the concertmaster of the Academy Chamber Orchestra, and also plays in a quartet of Academy students, Quartet Lumière, which has won numerous awards at chamber music competitions. 

At home in Indiana, Ms. Benjamin is a member of the trio Soli Deo Gloria.  She has been a member of the Symphony of the Lakes for seven years, and also played six years with the Ft. Wayne Youth Symphony.  As winner of the Ft. Wayne Young Artist Competition junior and senior levels, Ms. Benjamin soloed 25 times with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic at their Young People's Concerts. She has performed solos with the MasterWorks Festival Orchestra, Huntington University Chamber Orchestra, Fort Wayne Youth Symphony and the Symphony of the Lakes. 

Her master class instructors have included artists such as Joel Smirnoff and Joseph Silverstein, and she has been a participant in the MasterWorks Festival in Winona Lake, IN and the Chautauqua Music Festival in Chautauqua, NY.  Since beginning violin at age 3, Ms. Benjamin has delighted in sharing the joy of music with others of all ages in a variety of settings. In her free time Rebecca likes to write letters and take photos for her "Bugs and Blooms" collection.