Benjamin Lash
Cello
Assistant Principal
Benjamin Lash leads a vibrant career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player, studio musician, and educator. He was a top prizewinner in the Washington International Competition and has performed concertos with orchestras in both the Chicago and Los Angeles metropolitan areas. Recent performances include an appearance on the WFMT Dame Myra Hess recital series with pianist Rudolfo Leone. Benjamin is an active chamber music collaborator. He is a member of the SAKURA Cello Quintet and has participated in summer festivals including Ravinia's Steans Music Institute, Sarasota Music Festival, Taos, Aspen, Holland International Music Sessions, Fortissimo Fest in Bulgaria, and Franco-American Chamber Music Festival in Missillac, France. An experienced orchestral musician, he is Assistant Principal of Pacific Symphony and a frequent substitute for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
A committed teacher, Benjamin is on the teaching faculty at the Colburn Community School. He was a faculty member at the Montecito International Music Festival and has given masterclasses at Montecito and the Music Institute of Chicago. His students have placed in local area competitions including the American Society of String Teachers Solo Competition. Several of his graduating high school students have been accepted at major conservatories including the New England Conservatory of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, Manhattan School School of Music, University of Southern California, and University of California, Los Angeles.
Growing up in Evanston, Illinois, Benjamin began studying cello at the age of six with Dean Bachus and Tanya Carey. In his early teens, as a first-place winner of multiple Chicago area competitions, he performed concertos by Saint-Saëns, Shostakovich, Hindemith, and Haydn. Benjamin received his Bachelors of Music from the Colburn Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Ronald Leonard. He completed Master of Music and Doctorate degrees at the USC Thornton School of Music, where he studied with Ralph Kirshbaum.
A committed teacher, Benjamin is on the teaching faculty at the Colburn Community School. He was a faculty member at the Montecito International Music Festival and has given masterclasses at Montecito and the Music Institute of Chicago. His students have placed in local area competitions including the American Society of String Teachers Solo Competition. Several of his graduating high school students have been accepted at major conservatories including the New England Conservatory of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, Manhattan School School of Music, University of Southern California, and University of California, Los Angeles.
Growing up in Evanston, Illinois, Benjamin began studying cello at the age of six with Dean Bachus and Tanya Carey. In his early teens, as a first-place winner of multiple Chicago area competitions, he performed concertos by Saint-Saëns, Shostakovich, Hindemith, and Haydn. Benjamin received his Bachelors of Music from the Colburn Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Ronald Leonard. He completed Master of Music and Doctorate degrees at the USC Thornton School of Music, where he studied with Ralph Kirshbaum.
