Benjamin T. Rossen Email & Phone Number

Native New Yorker Benjamin T. Rossen is the Executive Director of Lowell House Opera (LHO), and the composer and librettist of LHO's 2024 production, "The Unknowable: An Operatic Ballet in Two Acts." Concurrently, Benjamin completed a Master of Music in piano performance at the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) ‘24 as a candidate in the Harvard / NEC Dual Degree Program. Before his tenure at LHO, Benjamin graduated from Harvard College '23 in three years. He completed the degree of Bachelor of Arts with a double concentration in Economics and Music, with high honors. During his time as an undergraduate, Benjamin founded the Harvard Ballet Orchestra, which premiered original student choreography set to ballet repertory in Spring 2023. By extension, he was the inaugural Music Director of the Harvard Ballet Company for its 30th season. Further, Benjamin was Music Director for the Harvard College Opera's (HCO) 30th season. He led HCO in its Winter 2023 production of Lehár's "The Merry Widow," which also saw the premiere of Benjamin's original overture. For this composition, he was awarded by the Harvard Music Department the 2023 Hugh F. MacColl Prize.Benjamin has performed numerous times as a guest artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS), The Cliburn, and the Music@Menlo Chamber Music Festival. In addition, he was named a 2018 Finalist-Winner at the National YoungArts Foundation, a Finalist for the NPR “From the Top” program, and a quarterfinalist at the 2019 Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition & Festival. After making his piano recital debut at age nine and concerto debut at Carnegie Hall at age ten, he went on to win prizes at multiple international and national competitions. These include CMS, the George Gershwin International Music Competition, the Kaufman International Youth Piano Competition, the Music Teachers National Association, the New York Piano Festival & Competition, and Steinway & Sons Piano Competition. Benjamin has performed on three continents and has participated in numerous international festivals.Benjamin studied piano at NEC with Professors Alessio Bax and Dang Thai Son. Previously, he studied for nine years at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege with Professor Jeffrey Cohen. He is a 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts and a Young Steinway Artist.