Biography
Praised by The New York Times as, “clarion-voiced and vibrant”, Benjamin Butterfield has performed throughout North America, Europe as well as in the Middle East and Asia in concert, opera and recital. Recent engagements have included Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (Evangelist) and B minor Mass with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem in Pennsylvania, Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang for the 50th Anniversary of the St. Lawrence Choir in Montreal, Bach’s B minor Mass with the Vancouver Bach Choir and Handel’s Coronation Anthems with the Victoria Symphony under Kathleen Allen. Other engagements have included Messiah with the Houston Symphony under Nicholas McGegan; Afghanistan: Requiem for a Generation with the Calgary Philharmonic; the Kiddish Requiem (Stankovych) with the Hamburg Symphony in Kyiv, Ukraine under Oksana Lyniv; and Mozart’s Requiem with the Baltimore Symphony under Marin Alsop.
A prolific recording artist, Benjamin can also be heard through the Ukrainian Art Song Project (Toronto), American Bach Soloists (San Francisco), Bach Choir of Bethlehem (Pennsylvania) as well as on a recent release of music by Petr Eben for the Centaur label. Head of Voice for the School of Music at the University of Victoria, Mr. Butterfield has been recognized by Opera Canada with a Ruby Award for his contributions as a singer and pedagogue, was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and is the recipient of a Craigdarroch Award for Artistic Excellence from UVic. He also serves as guest faculty for summer vocal training programs; Opera Nuova (Edmonton), Valley Opera Summer Intensive (Kelowna), the Canadian Vocal Arts Institute (Montreal), Orford Musique (Sherbrooke), Yellow Barn (Vermont), Amalfi Coast Music Festival (Italy)and is Co-Director for the Ukrainian Art Song Summer Institute (Toronto).