François Benda

Born in Brazil, François Benda comes from a large family of professional musicians. He completed his studies in Graz and Geneva (clarinet, composition and conducting) and made his debut as a soloist in 1988 at the Tonhalle in Zurich, as well as at the Victoria Hall in Geneva. In 1991, François Benda was awarded the “Premio internazionale per le Arti dello Spettaccolo” in Rome. He currently performs in the most important music halls and is a solo clarinetist in many of the leading orchestras. François Benda is a highly sought-after artist both as a soloist and as a chamber music partner, and often participates as a guest artist in music festivals such as Berliner Festwochen, Styriarte, Musicades Lyon and Pentecost in Ittingen, Switzerland. He also performs in chamber music concerts with Heinz Holliger, Paul Badura-Skoda, Bruno Giuranna, Isabelle Faust, Josef Silverstein and Bruno Canino. In addition to his career as a soloist, François Benda is a professor at the Universität der Künste in Berlin and teaches at the Hochschule für Musik in Basel.