Ben Dean, is the violinist and musical director of Da Capo Strings. In a culture where originality is highly valued, recording artist, performer, clinician, and composer Ben Dean is a stellar talent. He began his career on a full scholarship to the prestigious Hartt School of Music and had the privilege of studying under Mickey Reisman, an internationally renowned violin instructor. In addition to his conservatory training, Ben is a highly accomplished recording artist whose work will be featured in the upcoming film “Brothers Bloom†(2008) which is starring the Oscar winning actor Adrian Brody. As an educator, Ben is currently on faculty at the Avon Old Farms School. He has been a guest clinician for the Hartt School, ASTA String Fling, and numerous public school districts. In these presentations he demonstrates the art of improvisation for strings in jazz, rock, fiddling and hip-hop genres. As a composer, Ben scored the music for live performances with the Citi-Arts Dance Ensemble and had his original compositions premiered at the opening of the Hartford Convention Center. He is a featured musician with the Greater Hartford Arts Council, Artist in Residence with the West Hartford Montessori School and maintains a private studio of students, many of which have gone on to win competitions for musical excellence. Electric Violin Project Through the use of a looping device and a digital effects Ben creates modern textures, rhythms and melodies not traditionally associated with the violin. Both composed and improvised, this style encompasses minimalism, jazz, avant-garde, rock, world music and classical influences. The result is a multi-dimensional solo violin experience.
