Ben Sheen

Benjamin Sheen is one of the UK's brightest young organists, currently studying Organ Performance at the Juilliard School in New York . Ben began his musical education as a chorister at St. Paul’s Cathedral, where he took up the organ aged 10. In 2003, Ben became the youngest person ever to give a recital in the cathedral’s Sunday evening series at the age of just 13. Ben was awarded a music scholarship to Eton College where he studied organ with Alastair Sampson and David Goode. While at Eton, Ben gave several recitals across the UK, including Liverpool Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and York Minster as well as appearing a number of times in the Windsor Festival as a soloist. He also toured the USA with the Eton College Choir and also giving a number of solo concerts in New York, Denver, Washington and Princeton University.

For three years, Ben held the position of organ scholar at Christ Church Cathedral where he was responsible for daily service playing as well as occasionally conducting the renowned cathedral choir. While studying at Oxford, Ben combined his position as organ scholar in the cathedral with a busy solo career, which led him to numerous performances in cathedrals and concert halls across the UK, as well as further afield in Australia and Germany. Recently, Ben has given several performances of his own transcription of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, as well as several concerto performances of Guilmant and Poulenc. Ben has made appearances on BBC Radio Oxford and BBC Radio 3 with Christ Church Cathedral Choir. He has also collaborated with prestigious orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Nicholas Cleobury, and Duisburg Philharmonie with Jonathan Darlington.

As a pianist, Ben gained the highest mark in grade 8 in 2004, and was awarded the Sheila Mossman prize. In the summer of 2008, Ben gave a performance of Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto with the Eton College Symphony Orchestra. He is also a keen chamber musician, having performed piano trios by Mendelssohn, Faure and Brahms.

Ben is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, winning the Limpus, Durrant and Frederick Shinn prizes and has recently been awarded the Worshipful Company of Musicians Silver Medal for 2011.

Ben is generously supported by the Hattori Foundation and the Rotary Club of the USA.