www.BenjaminSabey.com
Benjamin Sabey's music is shaped by his preoccupation with sensing the environment. His phenomenological attitude toward nature leads to an interest in the psychology of perception – exploring sensations of ambiguity, blur, distance and attendant emotional response which give rise to sensuous and intuitive listening experience.
Benjamin Sabey's music has been performed by many of the leading ensembles and performers in new music, including the Arditti String Quartet, Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, the New York New Music Ensemble, the Antares Ensemble and members of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the New Millennium Ensemble, Red Fish Blue Fish and the Talujon Percussion Quartet. Distinguished soloists who have performed his music include American clarinetist Jean Kopperud, Australian clarinetist Anthony Burr and Mexican guitarist Pablo Gomez. The list of performers and ensembles who have commissioned works from him include the New York based saxophone and piano duo, The Kenners, flutist Reiko Manabe, winner of the Japan Society of Contemporary Music Players Competition, harpsichordist Takae Ohnishi and The Del Mar College Concert Band. Current projects include a piece for the Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart and a commission for violin and interactive computer from the German violinist Felix Olshofka.
Benjamin Sabey was recently awarded the Royaumont Prize of Domaine Forget which includes an expenses paid residency at the Royaumont Abbey north of Paris.
He is a PhD candidate at the University of California, San Diego where he has been a student of Roger Reynolds. He has also studied with Harvey Sollberger, Chaya Czernowin, Philippe Manoury, Rand Steiger and Chinary Ung and is currently studying computer music with Miller Puckette and psycho-acoustics with Richard Moore.
Active as a conductor, keyboardist, vocalist and improviser, Sabey has appeared in concert with such performers as Charles Curtis, Mark Dresser and John Fonville and with the San Diego Symphony and La Jolla Symphony Chorus.
As a fellow of several conferences he has had lessons and master classes with a wide range of the world's leading composers including Alvin Lucier, Brian Ferneyhough, Helmut Lachenmann and Christopher Rouse.