Cello with Benjamin L.

In my years of teaching, I have developed an individual approach with each student, young or old, according to different needs and learning styles. I believe it is never too early or too late to begin learning, and it is my hope that music making through this instrument will be as enjoyable and passionate an experience for you as it has been for me. Whether you are looking on behalf of your son or daughter, looking to take on a new challenge later in life, or anything in between, I look forward to hearing why you want to learn to play the cello! (House calls available too!) I've included my bio below, for those who may be interested. Cellist Benjamin L. made his solo debut in 1999 at the Merryall Center for the Arts, where critic for the Danbury News Times, Frank Merkling, called him “remarkably gifted”, with “a charming, warm tone”. He has performed in various venues in the Tri-State area, including concerto performances with the Hartford Symphony, Farmington Valley Symphony and Musica Dolce Ensemble, and solo and chamber performances in Asia and Europe. He is an avid chamber musician, having performed with the Enao Ensemble in chamber concerts to benefit the charity, the Bishop’s Fund for Children, from 2000-2010, was the cellist and founding member of the Lorelei Piano Trio and has been a member of several other chamber music ensembles. As a free-lance cellist, he has performed with many diverse ensembles, accompanying the musical, “Time Between Us” in the New York Musical Theater Festival, appearing with the band, The Left Banke, playing with Ensemble 212 and Shattered Glass. In addition to performing, he is on the faculty of the Zen Music School, Port Jefferson Music Academy and coaches chamber music for Jeunes Virtuoses de New York, as well as teaching privately. He is also the artistic director of Concerts on the Slope, a chamber music series in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and the Artist-in-Residence for Music at Trinity of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Bronx. Mr. L. has performed at several summer music festivals including the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Castleman’s Quartet Program, Music at Menlo and Pacific Music Festival, and has won top prizes in several competitions. His chamber music mentors have included members of the Emerson, Tokyo, American and Keller String Quartets, as well as Robert Mann, Nicholas Mann, Peter Frankl, Andre Michel Schub, and Daniel Epstein, Sylvia Rosenberg and several others. He has taken master classes with Keith Robinson and Colin Carr, and past teachers include Eric Dahlin, David Finckel, Julia Lichten and Clive Greensmith, as well as lessons with Marta Casals Istomin and Bonnie Hampton. As an orchestral musician he has performed with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, the Empire State Sinfonia, the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra, the Salome Chamber Orchestra in New York City, and the Farmington Valley Symphony, as well as the Manhattan School of Music orchestras. Mr. L. holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Manhattan School of Music, where he was the recipient of the Hans and Klara Bauer Scholarship and the 2011 Pablo Casals Award. *** Travel Equipment *** I expect my students to have an instrument, method books (after I recommend one), a suitable arm less chair and music stand. I can travel anywhere public transportation can take me. (NYC or nearby New Jersey) *** Specialties *** I am familiar with, though not trained or certified in, Suzuki method, but I teach traditionally, often using the Suzuki and String Builder books, with an emphasis on reading music.