By: Fedya Lockwood

Benjamin Zander: Conductor for the Boston Philharmonic

In this essay, I will explore Benjamin Zander’s career and compare it to my career path. Benjamin Zander has a strenuous early path, but it later pays off, becoming one of the most renowned conductors and composers in recent history. I will  then compare his career to what I have planned for myself, and the changes I will make to push myself towards success. 

Benjamin Zander, born March 9th 1939, began composing at a very young age. He began writing his first compositions at nine years old. Those compositions were entered by his mother into the local annual art festival, where his compositions were talked down upon by one of the judges. When speaking of this instance, Benjamin says “it’s important to know what you’re after,” which really got to me because he then ended up becoming a famous composer and conductor, and founded the Boston Philharmonic. 

In spite of his beginning works, Zander  became an outstanding composer. And his early life reflects that, because he grew up playing the cello and practiced his skill to become part of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He was the youngest player at the time, joining at 12 years old. He studied under Benjamin Britten and Imogen Holst. He was a music scholar at only 13 years old. Benjamin moved from country to country to improve his craft at a young age. He studied in Florence and Siena in Italy, where he became a student of Gaspar Cassado, who was a famous Spanish cellist and composer. He also practiced in Germany where he was an assistant to the same teacher. 

The Philharmonic conductor moved to the United States to work for Brandeis and Harvard Universities. Benjamin Zander founded the philharmonic in 1978, and was a conductor for many other ensembles around the world. He also founded the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra in 2012, for other musicians who grew up similarly to him. Where they were classically trained musicians from a young age. He was nominated for a grammy for best orchestral performance in 2010 as well. 

I chose this particular story because the two main things I want to do in my career is to become an animator and composer, and I am hoping to use these skills to become a director for animated features. I relate to him in the sense that I am a classically trained violinist, and even though I have not been practicing as much as I used to, I am still hoping to become a composer someday. My plan is to graduate from this program and then get another degree in composition. 

To be honest, I do not relate to most of the people I researched, there are not many people that have multiple things that grab their focus. But it’s been like that for me my whole life, where I  wanted to do everything, and I was skilled enough to become anything I wanted. Now that I am an adult, I am really trying to narrow it down. Now I’ve narrowed it down to two things which are art and music. But together, it’s going to be a lot of work. There was not much about his daily life and what he did to achieve his goals, but coming from being a violinist I have a good guess that it was just a lot of practicing and having knowledgeable teachers who support you through your journey. 

Through looking on RoadTripNation website, I did not see many people talk about mental health or disability, which has been one of the greatest barriers for me in my career. I will not make any changes to what I am doing with my career so far because I am just starting, and I don’t think a lot of the information can apply to me because of my barriers. 

In conclusion, Benjamin Zander is an incredible musician, and reading his profile, he has inspired me. I don’t want to follow in his exact footsteps, but it was good to see the possibilities of what I could do with my life, wanting to become a composer. 

Roadtrip Nation. “Ben Zander”. Roadtrip Nation. Copyright 2023. 10 October 2023. 

https://roadtripnation.com/leader/ben-zander

“Benjamin Zander”. Wikipedia, last modified 5 October 2023. 10 October 2023. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Zander

“About Benjamin Zander”. Boston Philharmonic. Copyright 2023. Mass Cultural Council. 10 

October 2023. https://www.bostonphil.org/about/benjamin-zander/bio