A native of the Philadelphia area, Benjamin Beirs started playing the classical guitar at the age of 6 years old. However, he did not limit himself only to the classical style – before the age of 18, he had performed and recorded with numerous bands on both acoustic guitar and bass and had clearly demonstrated his love of performance. A musician of many interests, he has dabbled in flamenco and jazz as well as free improvisation and enjoys the performance of new and improvised music as well as the standard repertoire for the classical guitar.
Ben has received many honors and awards which encourage him to continue in his challenging and rewarding field – top prizes in the National Guitar Workshop solo competition, Yale Gordon Concerto Competition, Baltimore music club competition, and semi-finalist in the 2005 Guitar Foundation of America competition. He has received numerous scholarships from Peabody Conservatory, where he currently studies, including the Charlie Byrd Memorial Guitar Scholarship and the Harold Randolph Prize for performance, to name a few.
Ben released his debut recording, Distant times & Different places, in early 2008. A varied and colorful collection of some of Ben’s favorite guitar repertoire, it is available for purchase online or directly through the artist. In addition to a busy performance schedule, Ben is a dedicated guitar instructor at Music and Arts in Germantown, MD and at the Peabody Preparatory. Please see http://www.benjaminbeirs.com for more information.
Ben also frequently travels to France where he performs as one half of Duo Transatlantique, formed in 2002 with renowned French guitarist Maud Laforest while the duo studied together at Peabody Conservatory. In the summer of 2005 in Paris, the duo won first prize in the Union Française des Artistes Musiciens Guitar Duo Competition. The duo has performed at the Kennedy Center and in many venues throughout France. Their recent CD, Le Gris et le vert (The Gray and the Green) is available for purchase on the internet. Please see http://www.duotransatlantique.com for more information.
Also interested in outreach, Ben has found a way to combine his love of service with his music. Currently he serves as a site-coordinator for the Creative Access, a musical outreach initiative at Peabody, where he and other volunteers perform on a regular basis for the Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. Please see http://www.thecreativeaccess.com for more information.
Ben seriously began his classical guitar studies in 2001, when he started traveling to Baltimore from Philadelphia every other week to study with esteemed pedagogue and performer Julian Gray. Under Gray’s skilled tutelage he holds a Bachelor’s of Music degree in guitar performance and a Master’s of Music in Guitar Performance / Pedagogy from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. Ben is currently continuing his studies with Mr. Gray at Peabody in a Graduate Performance Diploma program. Ben has additionally performed in master-classes and lessons for Sergio Assad, Denis Azabagic, Manuel Barrueco, Eliot Fisk, Martha Masters, Lorenzo Micheli, Pepe Romero, David Russell, and Jason Vieaux, among others.
When not playing the guitar, Ben enjoys cooking gourmet food with friends, healing his body from the tension of guitar practice with hatha yoga, and strengthening his intention to make a positive contribution to the world through meditation.
Benjamin,thanks for the add and the great guitar playing. I really enjoyed listening to your tracks. Regards and stop by for a listen. All the best, Nick
