Dr. Benjamin Cornelius-Bates, DMA, AD, FAGO, grew up in Alaska, but did not study the organ or composition until he attended the University of Montana, Missoula in 2001. There he studied with Dr. Nancy Cooper and earned a BM in Organ Performance. After moving to Vancouver, British Columbia with his wife, Benjamin studied organ with Rachel Alflatt and was mentored in composition with her husband Denis Bédard. Benjamin earned his MM in Sacred Music from Duquesne University in 2009 and an Artist’s Diploma in 2011 studying with Dr. Ann Labounsky, emphasizing improvisation. Benjamin completed his Doctorate in Music Composition at West Virginia University in 2020, studying with Drs. Matthew Heap, David Taddie, and Joseph Dangerfield. Currently he is an Assistant Professor of Musicianship at Duquesne University and Director of Music at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.
As a composer, Benjamin, has had his compositions played throughout the world, including the United States, Canada, England, and much of Europe. His piece, Fête, was a finalist in the 2012 Kansas City AGO Composition Competition and led to the commission of Sonata No. 1, available through Selah Publishing. In July 2018, Sonata No. 1, was premiered at the 2018 National Convention for the American Guild of Organists in Kansas City. Most recently, Ben was commissioned to write a piece in memorium of Lydia Speller titled Fantasia on “I wonder…” The piece was premiered by Dr. Jan Kraybill on her 23rd Annual Super Bowl Organ Concert in March of 2022.
As an improviser, he was a semi-finalist at the 2011 André Marchal International Improvisation Competition held in Biarritz, France and was invited to the 2013 Arthur Piechler Improvisation Competition held in Landau, Germany. Benjamin competed in the 2015 Improvisation Competition held at the 55th Annual Conference on Organ Music at the University of Michigan. Lately, he has been exploring more avant-garde improvisations in a series titled Evening Improvisations found on his YouTube channel.
Benjamin has lectured and served on panels regarding Liturgy and Sacred Music. He served as a panelist on Sacred Music at the 2015 National Pastoral Musicians Convention held in Grand Rapids Michigan. The panel was featured on the Pray Tell blog. He has lectured on the use of rhetoric in Baroque music, a course exploring the Sacred vs. Secular music, as well as the performance issues surrounding temperament in early music. He was recently on the Ministry Monday podcast, December 2021, demonstrating practical liturgical improvisations.
Benjamin has begun arranging music of women and composers of color to help diversify and promote a more equitable and representative repertoire. He believes that the repertoire that organists perform should reflect the values and culture we hold important. There is a long history of transcription in the organ repertoire and Benjamin seeks to join this tradition and expand the organ repertoire. Some of these scores can be found on his IMSLP page under “As Arranger” tab.
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