Ben Dawson – Pianist & Composer
Born in London, Ben Dawson has earned an international reputation as a pianist & musician at home in the most diverse range of musical styles and environments. He has appeared as a concerto soloist with major orchestras in the UK & abroad, featured on numerous film & television soundtracks, written music for film, appeared on-screen as a performer in tv productions, been music director in the theatre, & partnered with artists & groups of hugely-varying styles; classical, cabaret, contemporary, music theatre, pop, jazz, & many others in-between.
As a soloist, Ben has performed & broadcast concertos with some of the world’s most renowned orchestras; including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, Lahti Symphony, RTE National Symphony & Concert Orchestras & the Ulster Orchestra. Ben has also recorded as a soloist with the Royal Philharmonic & BBC Concert Orchestras. Ben’s enthusiasm for exploring music’s rarities has led to performances of concertos by composers including Bernard Herrmann, Earl Wild, Duke Ellington, Miklos Rozsa, Bohuslav Martinu, & William Grant Still; in addition to appearing in more traditional repertoire.
In 2022, comedian, satirist and actor Barry Humphries asked Ben to play (& hoover the stage every night) for him, on what was to be his final tour, with more than 30 performances of “The Man Behind The Mask”. Shortly before that he had also partnered with Dame Edna Everage to record music by Stephen Sondheim. Sharing a delight in on-stage chaos & anarchy in music, Australian Kamikaze Cabaret artist Meow Meow has invited Ben to appear with her at several festivals around the world; performing at the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, at the Bergen Festspillene with the Bergen Philharmonic & with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as performing a smaller version of Meow’s show with just the two of them on stage, most recently in Belfast. He has toured internationally with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in a programme of Weimar-era cabaret music, appeared as a guest player with the multi-piano ensemble Piano Circus; joined the Britten Sinfonia for Steve Reich’s 80th birthday concerts; broadcast and recorded with mezzos Alice Coote & Lucy Schaufer, violinists Anne Akiko Meyers & Richard Tognetti, & appeared in concert with the award-winning Tippett Quartet. Ben is also a regular guest & performer on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune programme.
Owing to his fluency in numerous styles, Ben works as a session player in London’s recording studios. He has performed & featured on numerous film, television, video game & commercial productions. Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation of ‘The Great Gatsby’, features Ben playing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with a studio orchestra. Amongst the numerous major productions Ben has played on, some recent titles include; ‘Endeavour’, ‘Mr Malcom’s List’, ‘See How They Run’, ‘Steve Jobs’, ‘The Little Drummer Girl’, ‘Vanity Fair’, ‘Downton Abbey’, ‘An Inspector Calls’. His playing has also been heard on many well-known brands’ marketing campaigns; including those of John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Thomson Holidays, Carte d’Or.
Ben’s most recent solo release on the Luminate label, contains a world premiere integral recording of a set of pieces by Eric Coates, receiving airplay on radio stations in the UK and abroad. Released in 2018, Ben made his debut chamber music recording for Deutsche Grammophon as part of the Bernstein centenary, with a recording of Bernstein’s music for solo brass instruments & piano.
Orchestral playing also plays an important part of Ben’s musical life; having performed or recorded with most major symphony & chamber orchestras in the UK, including on recent award-winning releases from the newly-reformed Sinfonia of London.
As a composer, Ben writes music that reflects his diverse musical interests. He has written music for the Bafta-nominated film ‘Notes on Blindness’, & ‘The Hot Potato’. Ben has always loved playing, writing and arranging for singers, & his set of songs about the annoyances of social media continues to grow.
Ben Dawson is a graduate of the RNCM. His teachers have included Gary Carpenter & David Sutton-Anderson for composition; Thalia Myers & Paul Janes for piano.