Additional recent highlights have included his oratorio, ONE BEFORE ZERO, commissioned and premiered by the Orchestre de Picardie in 2016, as part of the centenary commemorations for the Battle of the Somme. Following performances in France it has also been performed in Slovakia and Germany under Benjamin’s direction: "…In addition to the two soloists and the boys' choir, it was above all the composer who made the great tension of his oratorio audible on the podium of the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra and allowed everyone involved to play with such intensity that the tension was transmitted to the audience. Benjamin Ellin's oratorio is able to move the hearts of the listeners and keep alive the memory of the traumatic conditions of the war. The warmth and cordiality with which Benjamin Ellin's oratorio was received speaks for the openness of the Jena audience…." (Dietmar Ebert. 11/18, Jena).
A multiple award winner, Benjamin was a laureate and was awarded the Public Prize from the inaugural Evgeny Svetlanov International Conducting Competition in 2007. In September 2009 Benjamin was awarded the Barlow Endowment Prize for composition, becoming only the second British composer in twenty-five years to be awarded the prize. The New York Philharmonic’s Principal Trombonist, Joseph Alessi, premiered his subsequent commission for a trombone concerto in April 2012 in the USA. Benjamin’s debut composition CD, Three States at Play, was released in Spring 2012 to critical acclaim. Tafahum’s debut album ‘Osmosis’, featuring almost all Benjamin’s own compositions, was released to critical acclaim in April 2016; "...beguilingly scored and intelligently structured…the music constantly evolves. Magical."
(Graham Rickson, The Arts Desk, April 2016)
Biography
Award-winning and critically acclaimed British conductor and composer Benjamin Ellin is currently co-founder and Musical Director of De Mowbray Music and the De Mowbray Music Festival, Music Director of the Thursford Christmas Spectacular, co-founder, conductor and composer of the contemporary-fusion ensemble Tafahum, Principal Conductor of the Slaithwaite Philharmonic Orchestra and President of Pembroke Academy of Music, London. Benjamin is also a founding trustee of the Evgeny Svetlanov Charitable Trust.
Over two decades Benjamin has developed an international reputation for being able to unite groups, organisations and audiences across a wide-range of projects as well as being fearless in his commitment and belief to bold programing, inclusivity and collaborative projects. His belief in the positive and unifying power of music and the arts is reflected by the wide-ranging projects of which he is currently a major figurehead, and his past achievements are equalled by a tireless commitment as a guest artist and as a Music Director. This can be seen by his ongoing work in North Yorkshire through the De Mowbray Music Festival in Thirsk, the contemporary-fusion ensemble Tafahum, opera festivals and performances across the UK including Focus Opera (2007 – 2015), a wide commitment to outreach and development work in settings from projects in prisons and refugee camps to university departments as well as curating projects and collaborations with leading ensembles across the globe. From 2006-2010 Benjamin was also Music Director of Pembroke Academy of Music in London, which provides vital musical education and opportunities to the young members of the Walworth community.
His ability to successfully work with musicians from across the musical spectrum has led to a variety of bespoke projects, most recently with John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest and Slaithwaite Philharmonic, the Orchestra of Opera North, the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Jena Philharmonic, Orchestre de Picardie, English Chamber Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Orchestre National de Lille, Shanghai Opera House Orchestra, Gunma Symphony Orchestra (Japan), St Petersburg Symphony and the Luxembourg Philharmonic amongst others.
As a composer his output is diverse and far-reaching. From solo concert works to symphonies, film scores to cross-arts commissions, Benjamin’s music has been performed and broadcast all over the world; in the concert hall, theatre and for the screen. In 2022 Benjamin was commissioned by the Evgeny Svetlanov Conducting Competition to compose a symphony to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the passing of Svetlanov himself. Ellin’s Symphony No. 1 was premiered under Dmitri Jurowski in 2022 in Moscow to great acclaim while his Sinfonia No. 1 was performed at the Royal Opera House in London with the Royal Ballet School in 2017 as part of their Summer Showcase. Benjamin’s Violin Sonata has already been commercially recorded and released twice by different artists and his Violin Concerto MIYABI was premiered by the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. Benjamin has received several commissions for works inspired by the history and culture of First Nation communities of Alberta, with whom he enjoys a close relationship, by long-time collaborator and esteemed violist Rivka Golani.
In 2020 Benjamin received the first British commission for a bass trombone concerto from Opera North. ‘Gresley’ was subsequently premiered by bass trombonist Christian Jones and Opera North in October 2021 and formed part of a major album release alongside other major works for trombone by Benjamin in 2023. The album, Windows, which features soloists Joseph Alessi, Blair Sinclair and Christian Jones was reviewed as “Melodically appealing, harmonically adventurous, rhythmically exciting and brilliantly orchestrated. Probably my disc of the year so far and it will be a hard one to beat.” Paul RW Jackson, British Music Society.
