Benjamin's last concert with us was on 24 March 2012. The hunt is now on for his successor!.
Benjamin Wolf studied at University College, Oxford, Trinity College of Music, and King’s College, London.
As conductor he works as Musical Director of the Zemel Choir, the Rushmoor Choir and the Wallace Ensemble,
and as choirmaster of Belsize Square Synagogue. He also performs regularly with the Quorum Chamber Choir.
As pianist he performs with a number of singers and instrumentalists, while as a singer he is the founder of the
bOYbershop quartet. He is also increasingly active as a composer.
With the Zemel Choir he has performed at venues including the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Purcell Room and
St John’s, Smith Square. In January 2005 he conducted them in a special edition of the BBC’s Songs of Praise,
and in November of the same year he performed at their 50th anniversary concert at St John’s, Smith Square.
Recent engagements have included tours to Europe (2007) and Israel (2009), a new CD recording and the Zemel Choir’s
new festival, Celebrate with Song. Recent activities with the Wallace Ensemble (a young, professional chamber
orchestra) have included a first CD (recorded in summer 2007), a concert of Israeli/orchestral klezmer music
at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and the inaugural Wallace Ensemble composition prize, as well as concerts for
the Mill Hill Music Club, Mill Hill Music Festival and Belsize Square Synagogue. With the Rushmoor choir
he has toured the Czech republic, and participated in events with choirs from France and Italy, while
the Belsize Square choir has recently recorded a CD – Todah v’Zimrah – and appeared on BBC television.
He has written music for theatre productions and the concert hall. His early training as a classicist inspired
two recent works based on ancient Greek modes and texts from Homer’s Odyssey. The first – Siren Song – has been p
erformed at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, King’s College, London, and Magdalen College, Oxford, while Song
of Demodocus received its first performance at the Ekon Festival of Greek Music in June 2009. Other works are Jewish
in inspiration. These include his first piano concerto, L’Chaim, performed by The Wallace Ensemble in 2003, and a cello
concerto (entitled Etz Chayim) commissioned for the 70th anniversary of Belsize Square Synagogue and first performed
in March 2009. He has also written a number of pieces for the Zemel Choir and for the bOYbershop quartet.
As pianist, he has performed with – amongst others – cellist Gemma Rosefield, tenor Marc Finer and mezzo-soprano
Ruti Halvani. He has also played for cantors Robert Brody, Avromi Freilich and Yitschak Meir Helfgott.
In addition to his work as a performer, he is currently studying for a PhD in the social history of
twentieth-century music.