Benjamin Zander

Benjamin Zander Speaker Biography

World-Renowned Musical Conductor 

Benjamin Zander is the conductor of The Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and a guest conductor around the world. With London’s famed Philharmonia Orchestra, he is recording the complete cycle of Mahler symphonies for Telarc, recordings which have been received with extraordinary critical acclaim and several awards. Their latest recording of Bruckner’s 5th Symphony was nominated for a 2010 Grammy, and has received critical acclaim both for the performance and Zander’s now famous full-length disc explaining the music for the lay listener. They recorded their next release, Mahler’s 2nd Symphony, in January 2012 and it is scheduled for release later this year.

Early Years

In 1967, Zander joined the faculty at New England Conservatory, where he taught an interpretation class, conducted the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted the conservatory orchestras. For the past 28 years, he was the artistic director of the joint program between New England Conservatory’s Preparatory School and The Walnut Hill School for the Performing Arts in Natick, Massachusetts.

Speaker and Presenter

Zander is one of the most sought-after speakers in the world. He gave the opening keynote address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where on another occasion he was awarded the Crystal Award for “outstanding contributions in the Arts and international relations. In 2002, he was awarded the “Caring Citizen of the Humanities” Award by the International Council for Caring Communities at the United Nations. In honor of his 70th birthday, and 44 years of teaching, he was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the New England Conservatory.

Book

His partner Rosamund Zander and he have collaborated on a best-selling book, The Art of Possibility which has been translated into fifteen languages.