Ben’s journey playing the tuba started in the same way most do: he was asked by a school band conductor to switch from trumpet, as there never seem to be enough tuba players in this world. To this day he hasn’t figured out why this is. He was initially drawn to the instrument upon witnessing the collection owned by his first musical inspiration and teacher, Cathy Chan, which contained two of the coolest things an 8 year old brass player can imagine- a sousaphone and a giant pink tuba. Since then he has studied under Scott Frankcombe, Marcel Kocbek-Malepa, and he cherishes the occasional lesson with MSO tubist Tim Buzbee.

Ben has performed with Sydney Youth Orchestras since 2022, in the Philharmonic and Flagship orchestras. On top of this he has taken part in Australian Youth Orchestra Young Symphonists, Willoughby City Band, Opera Australia Children’s Chorus, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, and 7 of the 8 weekly Department of Education Arts Unit ensembles. 

Ben was the recipient of the Eastman Winds Young Artist competition in 2021 and received ENCORE nominations for outstanding HSC performance in 2023, ranking 1st in his Music 2 HSC cohort at Newtown High School of the Performing Arts. He is entering his first year of study at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

2024 will be Ben’s first year as SYO Principal, and he is excited to see where the year takes him.