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Violinist Benjamin Shute studied at the New England Conservatory (DMA, BM), the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg (Diplom KA), and the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt, where his teachers included Rainer Kussmaul (first concertmaster, Berliner Philharmoniker, Berliner Barock Solisten), Bernhard Forck (concertmaster, AKAMUS Berlin), Lucy Chapman, and Masuko Ushioda.
He has has enjoyed diverse performance activities on modern and period instruments, including serving as concertmaster of the Boston Chamber Orchestra and appearing as soloist in concertos from the seventeenth to twentieth centuries with orchestras in the States and Europe. As chamber musician, he has served on the faculty of festivals in the USA, France, Italy, and Japan and been enriched by collaborations with diverse colleagues including orchestral principals (Pittsburgh, RAI Turin, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Boston Baroque), chamber musicians (Parker, Jasper, Formosa, Blair, Carpe Diem, Diderot quartets), and faculty of conservatories in the USA, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Turkey. On period instruments, he has collaborated with artists including members of the Freiburger Barockorchester, Musica Antiqua Köln, Apollo’s Fire, Boston Baroque, Piffaro, and the Diderot Quartet and has also performed with such ensembles as Grand Harmonie, Ars Viva Freiburg, and the Raritan Players. He collaborates regularly with harpsichordist Anastasia Abu Bakar as the Highlands Duo, with whom he has performed at venues including Schloss Bad Krozingen, Landgrafenschloss Marburg, Wheaton Conservatory, Dickinson College, and other institutions in Germany and throughout the USA. Recordings include the CD "In Sara Levy's Salon" with the Raritan Players (Acis Productions) and a recently released album of the complete Brahms piano-violin sonatas with pianist Kai-Ching Chang.
A firm believer in the importance of the vibrancy of local music culture, Benjamin Shute is deeply invested in the Oklahoma City music scene, performing regularly with ensembles including the Oklahoma Virtuosi, Tactus, and the Oklahoma Modern Music Collective and holding a tier A first violin position with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic.
Also a dedicated teacher, he heads the violin studio at Oklahoma City University's Wanda L. Bass School of Music, having previously held posts at Dickinson College, Cairn University, Cecil College, and Oklahoma Baptist University. He has made guest teaching appearances at institutions including MIT, Rutgers, Bucknell, and other universities in Ohio, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
In addition to his performance and teaching activities, he is author of the book Sei Solo: Symbolum? The Theology of J. S. Bach’s Solo Violin Works (Pickwick/Wipf & Stock, 2016) as well as critical reconstructions of J. S. Bach’s lost D-minor violin concerto BWV 1052 and incompletely surviving D-major sinfonia BWV 1045, which have been performed at venues including the Franz Liszt Academy Budapest and the Mecklenburg State Theater. His compositions have been heard in the States and abroad at venues including the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music.
He has has enjoyed diverse performance activities on modern and period instruments, including serving as concertmaster of the Boston Chamber Orchestra and appearing as soloist in concertos from the seventeenth to twentieth centuries with orchestras in the States and Europe. As chamber musician, he has served on the faculty of festivals in the USA, France, Italy, and Japan and been enriched by collaborations with diverse colleagues including orchestral principals (Pittsburgh, RAI Turin, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Boston Baroque), chamber musicians (Parker, Jasper, Formosa, Blair, Carpe Diem, Diderot quartets), and faculty of conservatories in the USA, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Turkey. On period instruments, he has collaborated with artists including members of the Freiburger Barockorchester, Musica Antiqua Köln, Apollo’s Fire, Boston Baroque, Piffaro, and the Diderot Quartet and has also performed with such ensembles as Grand Harmonie, Ars Viva Freiburg, and the Raritan Players. He collaborates regularly with harpsichordist Anastasia Abu Bakar as the Highlands Duo, with whom he has performed at venues including Schloss Bad Krozingen, Landgrafenschloss Marburg, Wheaton Conservatory, Dickinson College, and other institutions in Germany and throughout the USA. Recordings include the CD "In Sara Levy's Salon" with the Raritan Players (Acis Productions) and a recently released album of the complete Brahms piano-violin sonatas with pianist Kai-Ching Chang.
A firm believer in the importance of the vibrancy of local music culture, Benjamin Shute is deeply invested in the Oklahoma City music scene, performing regularly with ensembles including the Oklahoma Virtuosi, Tactus, and the Oklahoma Modern Music Collective and holding a tier A first violin position with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic.
Also a dedicated teacher, he heads the violin studio at Oklahoma City University's Wanda L. Bass School of Music, having previously held posts at Dickinson College, Cairn University, Cecil College, and Oklahoma Baptist University. He has made guest teaching appearances at institutions including MIT, Rutgers, Bucknell, and other universities in Ohio, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
In addition to his performance and teaching activities, he is author of the book Sei Solo: Symbolum? The Theology of J. S. Bach’s Solo Violin Works (Pickwick/Wipf & Stock, 2016) as well as critical reconstructions of J. S. Bach’s lost D-minor violin concerto BWV 1052 and incompletely surviving D-major sinfonia BWV 1045, which have been performed at venues including the Franz Liszt Academy Budapest and the Mecklenburg State Theater. His compositions have been heard in the States and abroad at venues including the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music.
