Ben Russell, violinist, vocalist and songwriter, has an unmistakable passion for music. The Hilly Town Press describes his unique intensity saying, “[Ben Russell], the fiddle player, was like none I've ever seen.”
Ben in Carlsbad
A native of San Diego, Ben moved to New York City in 2006 to form the Bryant Park Quartet. Recently, the BPQ was a prizewinner in the 2010 Hugo Kauder International Music Competition and the recipient of a 2008 Chamber Music America Residency Partnership Program grant. The BPQ is currently Artists in Residence at the Stony Brook Pre-College Division and are represented by Ariel Artists.

In addition to his quartet, Ben is a member of the American Contemporary Music Ensemble, the Mark Morris Dance Group, the Wordless Music Orchestra, and is the Principal 2nd Violinist of the Portland Symphony Orchestra in Maine. In the studio, he has played on Arcade Fire's Grammy Award Winning album The Suburbs and Sufjan Stevens' The Age of Adz.

Ben's studies include a Masters degree from the New England Conservatory of Music, a Bachelor's degree from Biola University, and one year at the Amsterdam Conservatory in the Netherlands. All his studies were in violin performance.

photo: Michael Colarsado