The Orchestra of St. Luke’s has appointed violinists BENJAMIN BOWMAN and JESSE MILLS to its St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, the artistic core of the New York City-based orchestra. Orchestra of St. Luke’s President and Executive Director James Roe stated, “We plan to expand the ensemble by a total of ten musicians across the next several seasons, making a significant investment in the artistic growth of the organization.”
Benjamin Bowman is an American-Canadian violinist and was recently appointed concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (a title he shares with David Chan). Bowman is also concertmaster at American Ballet Theatre. Bowman is active as a chamber musician, recitalist, and soloist, performing in concerts and festivals in Europe and North America. He was nominated for a 2017 Grammy Award for a recording of the chamber works of Jerzy Fitelberg with the Artists of the Royal Conservatory Ensemble and he was featured on the 2013 Juno-winning album Levant with the Amici Chamber Ensemble. Collaborative work includes contemporary music, improvisation, and performance with singer/songwriters. His discography includes recent solo and chamber-music releases. Bowman received his bachelor of music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
Jesse Mills is a two-time Grammy-nominated violinist who performs music of many genres, from classical to contemporary to works he composed or improvised. As a chamber musician, he has performed throughout the U.S. and Canada, including concerts at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, the 92nd Street Y, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Boston’s Gardner Museum, and the Marlboro Music Festival. Mills is co-founder of Horszowski Trio and Duo Prism, a violin-piano duo with Rieko Aizawa. With Aizawa, Mills became co-artistic director of the Alpenglow Chamber Music Festival in Colorado in 2010. He studied with Dorothy DeLay, Robert Mann, and Itzhak Perlman, and graduated with a bachelor of music degree from the Juilliard School in 2001. Mills is on the faculty at Longy School of Music of Bard College and at New York University.
Posted January 12, 2018
Benjamin Bowman photo by Matt Dine
