Benjamin Lees

Benjamin Lees (born January 8, 1924) is a contemporary U.S. composer of classical music, born in Harbin, China, raised in San Francisco and currently residing in Palm Springs, California.

Lees rejects atonalism and Americana in favor of classical structures. He began piano lessons at 5 and started composing as a teenager. In 1954, the NBC Orchestra performed his Profiles for Orchestra on national TV. Notable work includes Symphony No. 4: Memorial Candles commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 1985 to commemorate the Holocaust.

Awards

• 1953: Fromm Foundation Award
• 1954: Guggenheim Fellowship
• 1955: Copley Medal
• 1956: Fulbright Fellowship
• 1958: UNESCO Award, Sir Arnold Bax Society Medal
• 1966: Guggenheim Fellowship
• 1985: Lancaster Symphony Orchestra's Composer's Award
• 2004: Grammy Nomination

Discography

• Complete Violin Works of Benjamin Lees (Albany)
• Concerto for French Horn and Orchestra (New World)
• Violin Sonata No. 2 (Polystone)
• Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (VoxBox, EPR)
• Prologue, Capriccio and Epilog (CRI)
• Symphonies No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5, Etudes for Piano & Orchestra (Albany)
• Symphony No. 4: Memorial Candles (Naxos)
• Concerto No. 2 for Piano & Orchestra (Albany)
• Concerto No. 1 for Piano & Orchestra (Pierian)
• Piano Trio No. 2: Silent Voices (Albany)
• Passacaglia for Orchestra (Delos)
• Piano Sonata No. 4, Mirrors, Fantasy Variations (Albany)

External links

• Personal Page
• Magazine Article