Ben Chen
Clarinetist Ben Chen made his American solo debut at the Kennedy Center, the result of winning the National Symphony Orchestra’s Summer Music Institute concerto competition. He returned to the nation’s capital in 2018, where he held the position of assistant principal and E-flat clarinet of the Washington National Opera and Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra.
Ben is currently a member of the Erie Philharmonic and Cleveland Pops Orchestra, and previously served as principal clarinet of the Youngstown Symphony and second clarinet of the Sarasota Opera Orchestra. He has also performed in subscription concerts with The Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, and as guest principal clarinet with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Festival appearances include the Pacific Music Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, Breckenridge Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, and ChamberFest Cleveland.
A dedicated educator, Ben is on the faculty of the New England Music Camp in Maine and was previously an interim faculty member at Kent State University as well as a guest instructor at the Oberlin Conservatory. He has also given master classes throughout the United States and China. Ben earned degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Franklin Cohen, and an Artist Diploma from the Oberlin Conservatory with Richard Hawkins.