Arthur Benjamin(1893-1960)
- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Born in Sydney, Benjamin and his family moved to Brisbane when he was three years old. Benjamin's parents both had musical talent; his mother taught him how to play piano at a young age, and Benjamin was performing to the public by the time he was six. In 1902, while attending Brisbane Grammar School, he started training formally with George Sampson, the organist of St John's Cathedral in Brisbane. In 1911, at the suggestion of pianist Thomas Dunhill, he received a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London; Dunhill taught him harmony and counterpoint, Frederic Cliffe taught him piano, and Charles Villiers Stanford taught him composition; Benjamin regarded Stanford as a great teacher in spite of his arrogance.
Benjamin joined the Officer Training Corps in 1914, and received a temporary commission in April of 1915. He started serving as 2nd Lieutenant in the 32nd Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers, but in November of 1917, he was transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, where he served as an aircraft gunner. On July 31, 1918, Benjamin engaged in a dogfight against German flying ace Hermann Göring; Benjamin's plane was shot down, and he was captured by the Germans. Benjamin spent the next few months in the Ruhleben internment camp just west of Berlin, where he made friends with fellow prisoners and composers Benjamin Dale and Edgar Leslie Bainton, who would eventually became the director of the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music in 1934.
Benjamin returned to Australia in 1919, and became professor of piano music at the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music in Sydney. In 1921, he returned to England to teach piano at the Royal College of Music. He was promoted to professor in 1926, and also served as a judge for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. After resigning from the Royal College of Music, he moved to the Canadian city of Vancouver, where he served as the first conductor of the CBR Symphony Orchestra for five years. From 1944 to 1945, he served as the resident lecturer for Reed College in Portland, Oregon.
Benjamin returned to England in 1946, and continued teaching at the Royal College of Music before retiring for good in 1953. In 1957, Benjamin was given the Cobbett Medal by the Worshipful Company of Musicians. Benjamin died from cancer, which he'd been battling for three years, at Middlesex Hospital in 1960.
Benjamin joined the Officer Training Corps in 1914, and received a temporary commission in April of 1915. He started serving as 2nd Lieutenant in the 32nd Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers, but in November of 1917, he was transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, where he served as an aircraft gunner. On July 31, 1918, Benjamin engaged in a dogfight against German flying ace Hermann Göring; Benjamin's plane was shot down, and he was captured by the Germans. Benjamin spent the next few months in the Ruhleben internment camp just west of Berlin, where he made friends with fellow prisoners and composers Benjamin Dale and Edgar Leslie Bainton, who would eventually became the director of the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music in 1934.
Benjamin returned to Australia in 1919, and became professor of piano music at the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music in Sydney. In 1921, he returned to England to teach piano at the Royal College of Music. He was promoted to professor in 1926, and also served as a judge for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. After resigning from the Royal College of Music, he moved to the Canadian city of Vancouver, where he served as the first conductor of the CBR Symphony Orchestra for five years. From 1944 to 1945, he served as the resident lecturer for Reed College in Portland, Oregon.
Benjamin returned to England in 1946, and continued teaching at the Royal College of Music before retiring for good in 1953. In 1957, Benjamin was given the Cobbett Medal by the Worshipful Company of Musicians. Benjamin died from cancer, which he'd been battling for three years, at Middlesex Hospital in 1960.
