Benjamin Goodson

Benjamin is a music Finalist at Hertford College, Oxford. He performs regularly as a pianist in various capacities: for several years he played as orchestral pianist and repetiteur for the English Schools Orchestra under Robert Pepper, and since 2008 he has been employed as an accompanist by Portland Place School, London. As a conductor, he has directed various choral and instrumental groups, including the Oxford University String Ensemble, with which he toured Paris. In the week before beginning his degree, Benjamin became the youngest person to be invited to conduct at Pigott's Music Camp - the training ground of such esteemed conductors as Mark Elder and John Eliot Gardner - where he performed a programme of Baroque music, including Handel's Dixit Dominus.

He currently conducts both the Oxford University Philharmonia and the Solis Ensemble, an Oxford-based chamber orchestra dedicated to the performance of Baroque and Classical music that he founded. He studies conducting with Paul Spicer, Peter Stark and Colin Metters and intends to embark on a post-graduate conducting course after the completion of his undergraduate degree.

Benjamin is also interested in music history: he has written an extended piece on unity and spirituality in the music of John Tavener and Arvo Pärt, and has contributed news articles to the BBC Music Magazine website.

Click here to access Benjamin's own webpage.