Q. First Name:
R. Ben
Q. Last Name
R. Adler
Q. When did you join SYO?
R. I think 2000? I was in primary school, and started in Sinfonia, Camerata etc., finishing in Peter Seymour in my Year 6, 2003.
Q. What instruments did you play in SYO?
R. Violin
Q. What is your favourite memory of SYO
R. A concert at Mosman Art Gallery in which the sole of my dress shoe detached from the rest of the shoe, as I was walking onstage – so I bent down, picked it up, carried it with me and placed it under my foot when I arrived at my stand – with as much dignity as a chubby ten year old could muster!
To add insult to injury, my E string broke towards the end of the concert, careering into the front desk of the firsts!
Q. What role does music play in your life?
R. I’m a full time musician – music is everything! I lead and run two ensembles, klezmer band CHUTNEY and the Nomad String Quartet, and I play in numerous other ensembles and projects as well.
Q. What is your favourite musical repertoire from the SYO performances?
R. Britten’s A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
Q. What advice would you give young musicians today?
R. If you love it, then work at it – but be prepared to be versatile when you end up in the industry!
Q. Weblink or LinkedIn profile if you have one:
R. chutneyband.com
Ben Adler is a Sydney based violinist. He founded klezmer fusion band CHUTNEY in 2019, and the Nomad String Quartet in 2021. CHUTNEY is recognised as Australia’s leading klezmer band, has performed at the Opera House and toured regional NSW on multiple occasions, and is currently completing its debut album due for release early 2024. The Nomad String Quartet has performed classical, folk, film and contemporary repertoire for over 50,000 Sydneysiders, and is the 2023 Fine Music Classical Artist in Residence.
Ben studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where he was Orchestra Leader and Student of the Year. Upon graduation, Ben was named an Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) Emerging Artist, and performed and toured nationally as both section member and soloist with the ACO and the ACO Collective.
Ben also toured Australia and Europe with the Hillel String Quartet and with pianist Will Cesta. In Sydney, he has played with the Australia Piano Quartet, the Sydney Art Quartet, the Opus Now Quartet, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Opera Australia Orchestra and the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra. He also plays with ARIA winning gypsy band Monsieur Camembert and is Music Curator at Emanuel Synagogue. In his spare time, in 2021 and 2022 Ben created and taught his own music performance syllabus at the University of New South Wales, which encouraged students to understand music as the communication of emotion. He was Artist in Residence and Head of Musicology at St Andrew’s College, within the University of Sydney, from 2019 to 2021. Ben has also been published in the Sydney Morning Herald and the Sydney Undergraduate Journal of Musicology.
