Place of birth - Decatur, Illinois June 14, 1950

Professional Experience: 1972 - 2011

• Benjamin Hudson has been soloist and concertmaster with such conductors as James Levine, Pierre Boulez, Lukas Foss, and Dennis Russell Davies. He has appeared as soloist with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Mostly Mozart Orchestra in Lincoln Center, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the New York Chamber Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Hanover Band, the Clarion Chamber Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Orchestra (Bayrischer Rundfunk) and the Stuttgart Radio Orchestra (SWR Radio Orchestra).

• Since 1995, Benjamin Hudson has been concertmaster of Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra.

1976 - 1995 Hudson's New York years:

• Concertmaster of Brooklyn Philharmonic from 1977 - 1988 under Lukas Foss and from 1988 - 1995 under Dennis Russell Davies.

• First violinist of the Columbia String Quartet from 1977 - 1995.

The Columbia String Quartet was awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Martha Baird Rockefeller Foundation. The quartet is well-known for its excellent performances and recordings, particularly of contemporary music by composers such as Elliot Carter, Charles Wuorinen, Mario Davidovsky, Morton Feldman, Roger Sessions and John Cage.

• Solo violinist with Speculum Musicae and the Group for Contemporary Music, New York's two leading contemporary music ensembles from 1977 - 1995. 

Speculum Musicae won the prestigious Naumburg Chamber Music Award in 1977.

• Concertmaster of Dance Theatre of Harlem Ballet Orchestra at Lincoln Center from 1979 - 1995.

• Concertmaster of New York Pops at Carnegie Hall under Skitch Henderson from 1980 - 1993.

• Concertmaster Hanover Band in London from 1988 - 1995.

Hudson is soloist in the highly acclaimed recording of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto on period instruments with the Hanover Band for Nimbus Records. He is also leader and soloist in several other recordings with the Hanover Band, including the complete Bach Brandenburg Concerti and the Haydn Symphonies.

• Concertmaster Clarion Chamber Orchestra under Newell Jenkins from 1980 - 1992. Hudson was soloist with this group in the popular Newport Classic recording, "Hidden Masterpieces of the Baroque" on original instruments, including works by Vivaldi, Scarletti, Biber, Boccherini, Handel, Albinoni, and Sammartini.

• Guest Instructor of Violin, chamber music and baroque performance at California Institute of the Arts during the 2015-16 season.

• Violin Professor at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Director of the Oberlin Conservatory Baroque Orchestra in the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

• Violin teacher at Columbia University from 1982 - 1990.

• Music Assoc (teacher) of violin at Rutgers University from 1987 - 1989.

• Solo violinist with the Bach Chamber Soloists from 1983 - 1987.

Hudson toured the U.S. extensively with this group and performed Bach Cantatas and Arias frequently with well-known soprano Arleen Auger.

• While in Buffalo, Mr. Hudson formed the Buffalo String Quartet which served residencies at Middlebury and Johnson State Colleges in Vermont during the 1975 - 1976 season. Hudson was an Assoc. Prof. of violin at Middlebury College during this time.

• from 1973 - 1975 Hudson was solo violinist with the Center for the Creative and Performing Arts in residence at the State University of New York in Buffalo, a well-known fellowship program for the intense study and performance of contemporary music.

• Hudson toured throughout Europe and recorded for Columbia Records with the group. He appeared frequently on their popular series, "Evenings for New Music" at Carnegie Recital Hall in New York.

• Concertmaster of Drottningholm Court Theatre for nine seasons. During this time they recorded the complete Mozart Opera works for Decca Records under director Arnold Östman, with such singers as Arleen Augér, Barbara Bonney and Hakan Hagegård.

• Hudson has appeared many times as soloist and director with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchesta and has recorded the Bach Brandenburg Concerti and the complete Bach Violin Concerti for Tacet Records with the group. As director and soloist, he has also recorded the Bach "Goldberg Variations" arranged for strings, the Bach "Art of the Fugue" and the two Brahms Sextets arranged for strings for Good International Records. In May of 2002, Hudson recorded the Bach Six Sonatas for Violin and Continuo with well-known guitarist, Eliot Fisk and solo cellist of the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, György Bognar, for Good International Records. Benjamin Hudson was concertmaster and soloist in a recording of the complete Stravinsky works for chamber orchestra for ECM Records with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra directed by Dennis Russell Davies.

• Since 2005, Hudson has been a frequent guest concertmaster with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich, the SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra in Stuttgart and the WDR Radio Symphony Orchestra in Cologne. In 2008, Hudson was concertmaster of the Basel Symphony orchestra under conductor Dennis Russell Davies and continued with his post as concertmaster of the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra through 2011. He then embarked on a new phase of his career, concertizing as a guest director and soloist throughout Europe and the United States. Mr. Hudson has been particularly active with directing and solo engagements in Sweden. In 2012, he joined the faculty of Oberlin Conservatory of Music teaching violin, baroque violin and directing the Oberlin Conservatory Baroque Orchestra.

  Since 2015, Hudson has had an active period in Los Angeles recording in the major film studios as well as teaching violin and chamber music both privately and as guest instructor at California Institute of the Arts. In 2018, Hudson moved to Berlin and is teaching privately and performing chamber music.

  Training: 1968 - 1972

• Full scholarship student with Donald Weilerstein at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Hudson was concertmaster of the conservatory orchestra, at that time under James Levine.

• Graduate studies on full scholarship with Eudice Shapiro at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. During this time, Hudson participated in Heifetz and Piatigorsky masterclasses and became the youngest member of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra under the directorship of Neville Mariner.

• Other teachers and coaches include Joseph Gingold, Oscar Shumsky, Joseph Silverstein, Felix Galimir, Lynn Harrell, Walter Trampler, and Eugene Lehner.