About The Music Director and conductor, Benjamin Grow

Ben Grow is a New York–based conductor whose work spans opera, orchestral repertoire, and community-engaged performance. He serves as Principal Conductor of Chelsea Opera and Co-Director/Conductor of Ensemble Échappé, ensemble-in-residence at the American Academy of Arts and Letters, where he leads performances honoring the Academy’s annual music award recipients. He is additionally Principal Conductor of the Southern Tier Symphony, where he leads the core orchestral repertoire that first drew him to conducting.

His conducting of Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied at Philadelphia’s Prince Theater was described as “expertly coached” and “ferociously powerful,” and The Philadelphia Inquirer named the production the “most unforgettable opera” of the year. Grow has worked with Opera Philadelphia, leading workshops and studio recording projects, including work with Frederica von Stade. He has conducted the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the Grammy Award–winning ensemble Alarm Will Sound, and has appeared with Ensemble Connect at Carnegie Hall and at Trinity Wall Street.

A committed educator, Grow teaches at The Juilliard School and has guest conducted at the Manhattan School of Music and the Longy School of Music. Through Project Music Heals Us, he teaches composition to incarcerated students, work rooted in the belief that music can carry meaningful social impact and civic engagement. He has presented pre-concert talks and lectures at the 92nd Street Y and the Museum of Biblical Art.

Grow holds degrees from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and the Manhattan School of Music.