Benjamin Beilman, 17, graduated with honors from Community High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan.   He began his violin studies at age five and has performed extensively as a soloist and recitalist throughout the United States and Europe.

As the Grand Prize Winner of the 2007 American String Teachers Association’s national solo competition, Benjamin will solo with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra during the 2007-8 concert season.  He has appeared as guest soloist with the Ft. Collins, Toledo, Dearborn, and Birmingham-Bloomfield Symphony Orchestras as the winner of their respective young artist competitions.  His 2006 engagements included performances with the Ann Arbor Symphony, and the RAI National Symphony in Turin, Italy.

Benjamin is a 2007 Presidential Scholar in the Arts and the recipient of a youngARTS Gold Award in music from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts.  He won the Gold Medal at the 2007 Stulberg International String Competition and was awarded first prize in competitions sponsored by the Music Teachers National Association, the Society of American Musicians, and Midwest Young Artists, among others.  He is also a top laureate of the Johansen International String Competition (2006), the Blount-Slawson Competition (2007), and the National Society of Arts and Letters violin competition (2007).   

Benjamin served as Concertmaster of the Michigan Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Music Institute of Chicago’s premier ensemble, the American Academy Chamber Orchestra during the 2006-7 season. He was also the Concertmaster of the Pioneer High School Symphony Orchestra in Ann Arbor, which was selected by the Grammy Foundation as the 2006 National Grammy Signature School.  In 2005, he participated in the New York String Orchestra seminar under the leadership of Jaime Laredo.

During the summers of 2002-5, Benjamin attended the Encore School for Strings, where he was a scholarship student of David and Linda Cerone.  He was the only American violinist and youngest participant in the 2006 Verbier Academy and Festival in Switzerland. and was selected to participate in the Marlboro Music School and Festival during the summer of 2007.

An avid chamber musician, Benjamin performed with the Bay Chamber Trio on National Public Radio’s “From the Top” program featuring outstanding young classical musicians.  He has also appeared in recital at the Juilliard School’s Starling-Delay Symposium, the Skokie Library’s Young Steinway concert series, and the Ann Arbor Society for Musical Arts.  This fall, he will begin studies with Ida Kavafian at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.