Brandi Berry Benson

Violinist and 3Arts awardee Brandi Berry Benson, whose "four-string acrobatics" and "indispensable skill" (TimeOut Chicago) have been praised as "alert [and] outstanding" (Chicago Classical Review), as her "riffs.. powered by a flashing blur of bow arm, [as they] rolled out with irresistible glee" (Washington Post). She has performed throughout North America including with Newberry Consort, Ars Lyrica Houston, Ensemble Phoenix Munich, Apollo's Fire, as soloist/concertmaster of Chicago Arts Orchestra, Mountainside Baroque, St. Louis's Kingsbury Ensemble, and others. She has also performed at the Library of Congress, the Goodman Theater, Mexico City’s UNAM, the Boston, Berkeley, Bloomington, Indianapolis, and Madison Early Music Festivals, Early Music Now, and others, and released her album Silver Linings (2023). As Artistic Director of the Bach & Beethoven Experience (BBE), she has released four albums: A Gaelic Summer (2019), An Appalachian Summer (2019), Chicago Stories (2021), and Carols (2023). She also premiered The Story of Pa I Sha, a musical narrative she composed based on her Chickasaw ancestors (2023). Brandi serves as faculty at Northwestern and DePaul Universities, and is a faculty affiliate at Northwestern’s Center for Native American and Indigenous Research. For more info: brandiberrybenson.com and bbexperience.org.

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