Benjamin Marks

Dr Benjamin Marks is a freelance trombonist, composer, and researcher based in Brisbane, Australia. He is a member of the ELISION Ensemble and specialises in the performance of contemporary music, including collaborations with visual artists and free improvisation. With ELISION he has performed internationally as a soloist and chamber musician in major international new music festivals (Huddersfield, Mexico, and Berlin) and has been in residence at major universities (Harvard, Stanford, Buffalo, and London). He has recorded various CDs and his performances of works by Liza Lim, Aaron Cassidy, and John Aulich are documented on YouTube. Ben also performs with other Australian and international ensembles including Camerata; Ensemble Q; the Queensland, New Zealand, and Singapore Symphony Orchestras. He has also been a guest performer at the Australian Chamber Music Festival and Bangalow Music Festival. His compositions have been premiered by the Libra Ensemble, Mark Knoop, Ensemble Offspring, ELISION (at the Huddersfield Festival of Contemporary Music), and the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University (QCGU) Brass Ensemble, and he has had various pieces broadcast on ABC Classic FM. His latest compositions have been large-scale outdoor projects that explore the relationship between instrumental sound and the environment. These were completed as part of his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 2017. He is currently teaching the trombone at various private schools throughout Brisbane and at the QCGU where he directs the Trombone Ensemble and Young Conservatorium Brass Ensemble. He is also a prize-winning astrophotographer, winning the “Deep Space” section of the 2021 Skywatcher Astrophotographer of the Year competition.