International Violinist Benjamin Baker to perform at Berea College convocation
March 1, 2024
By Paula Keshderian
BEREA, Ky. – New Zealand violinist Benjamin Baker will visit the Berea College campus on March 14 for the second Spring 2024 Stephenson Memorial Concert.
At the age of 8, Baker was awarded a scholarship to attend the Yehudi Menuhin School in England. He later continued his education at the Royal College of Music, where he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Rosebowl.
Baker’s first inspiration was violinist and violist Nigel Kennedy. His parents had one classical CD in the house when he was young, and it was Kennedy’s “Four Seasons.”
Throughout his career, Baker has gained an international audience. He has performed in an array of countries such as Lebanon, Albania, Siberia, China, Australia, New Zealand, Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela and throughout the United Kingdom and the United States.
In 2013, Baker won first prize at the Windsor International Competition. He was also a prize-winner at the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) International Auditions in London and a fellow at the Ravinia Festival’s Steans Music Institute in Chicago for two years. In 2016, Baker again won first prize at the YCAT International Auditions in New York and third prize at the Michael Hill Competition in New Zealand.
Baker has made appearances at Wigmore Hall and on BBC Radio 3. Baker has performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony, Colorado Ballet Orchestras, Auckland Philharmonic and Christchurch Symphony Orchestras.
Baker has released three albums, “1919: Coda”, “1942” and “The Last Rose of Summer.”
“Benjamin Baker’s upcoming solo violin concert is a real treat for us,” said Dr. Thomas Ahrens, director of Convocations. “I’m excited to see him perform music by J.S. Bach and others on a vintage instrument—a violin made by Italian luthier Giovanni Grancino in 1694.”
The performance begins at 8 p.m. in Phelps Stokes Chapel. The event is free and open to the public.
About Berea College
Berea College, the first interracial and coeducational college in the South, focuses on learning, labor and service. The College only admits academically promising students with limited financial resources, primarily from Kentucky and Appalachia, although students come from 45 states and 70 countries. Every Berea student receives a Tuition Promise Scholarship, which means no Berea student pays for tuition. Berea is one of nine federally recognized Work Colleges, where students work at least 10 hours a week to earn money for books, housing, and meals. The College’s motto, “God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth,” speaks to its inclusive Christian character. www.berea.edu
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