Ben Ringer, Conductor

A native of Portsmouth, VA, conductor and clarinetist Ben Ringer has been a regular performer in New York concert halls since 2004. He holds a B.M. in clarinet performance, an M.M. in orchestral conducting from Mannes College of Music and is currently finishing his postgraduate diploma at Mannes in orchestral conducting; in addition, he is a graduate of the Virginia Governor's School for the Arts.
 
Since his arrival in New York, Ben has performed with the Mannes Orchestra, the Chelsea Symphony, Ensemble 212, and the New York Youth Symphony at venues including Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium, and Symphony Space. He is an avid chamber musician and performer of contemporary and 20th century works, performing in New York with, Alaria, the 85th Street Quintet, and Lunatics at Large (of which he is a founding member) . Ben made his New York conducting debut in May 2009 with the Mannes Repertory Orchestra, and since then has led orchestral performances of repertoire by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Prokofiev, Chopin, and Sibelius, and in December 2010 led elements of the Mannes Orchestra in performance at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall.
 
In addition to performing, Ben is an educator, holding the positions of instructor of clarinet at the Richard Rodgers School for the Arts Technology and instructor of clarinet/guitar/piano/music theory at Musipire Music Center in Queens, NY.