Benjamin Zander

Benjamin Zander is one of the world’s most recognized classical musicians and is a source of profound inspiration to many people. He is a deeply insightful conductor, a master teacher of music, and an engaging speaker on leadership. Zander’s emotionally rich and insightful performances stem from his endless pursuit towards deeper understanding of the masterworks of classical music. Generations of musicians have been stimulated by his all-encompassing approach, his communicative openness, and his commitment to creating ambassadors for the art form. Zander’s belief that music is a vehicle for enhancing societal connectivity transcends the concert hall. His passion and boundless energy unlock potential within individuals and organizations while enrolling a global community to become lifelong devotees of classical music.

Zander founded the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra in 1978. Initially, the orchestra consisted solely of amateur musicians, but over time it has grown to include professional musicians and students. It is one of Boston’s premier orchestras, and it delivers subscription series concerts and innovative educational opportunities under its vision of ‘passionate music making without boundaries’. Beginning with Michael Steinberg’s passionate advocacy on Zander’s behalf in the pages of the Boston Globe, critics and the public have been united in their praise of Zander’s interpretations of the central repertory with the Boston Philharmonic. He counts among his most ardent admirers some of the most well-informed musical intellectuals in America.

For decades, Zander has traveled extensively as a guest conductor and educator. He has conducted orchestras as diverse as the Israel Philharmonic, the Bournemouth Symphony, the Scottish and Irish National Orchestras, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Malaysian Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the National Youth Orchestras of New Zealand, Australia, and Venezuela. His performances, idealism, and commitment to authenticity have shed fresh, insightful, and sometimes provocative light on the interpretation of the symphonic repertoire. In the process, he has inspired countless musicians and audience members throughout the world.

Zander enjoys an international career as a speaker on leadership. He has given several keynote speeches at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he was presented with the Crystal Award for “Outstanding Contributions in the Arts and International Relations.” In addition, he has led talks on leadership at many of the world’s most important corporations, a small number of which include Google, BP, Johnson-Johnson, Intel, McDonald's, Pepsi, Unicef, Bloomberg, and Kellogs. These speeches are based on the principles outlined in his best-selling book, "The Art of Possibility." This was co-authored with the leading psychotherapist Rosamund Zander, and it has been translated into eighteen languages. Zander’s TED talk on "The Transformative Power of Classical Music" has been seen by over eighteen million people, and it is the most viewed TED Talk about music.

For 25 years, Zander has enjoyed a unique relationship with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. They have recorded and released Beethoven’s Fifth, Seventh, and Ninth Symphonies and Mahler’s First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth Symphonies, alongside a recording of Bruckner’s Fifth Symphony. Each of these recordings includes a full-length discussion disc, within which Zander explains the music. Praise for these recordings has been unanimous. High Fidelity named the recording of Mahler’s Sixth as ‘the best classical recording of 2002’, Mahler’s Third was awarded the “Critics’ Choice” by the German Record Critics’ Award Association in 2004, Mahler’s Ninth Symphony and Bruckner’s Fifth Symphony were both nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance.

In 2012, Zander founded the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, which draws young musicians aged twelve to twenty-one from the entire Northeastern U.S. to its weekly rehearsals and its performances in Boston’s Symphony Hall. This tuition-free orchestra tours regularly and has performed in Carnegie Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and the Berlin Philharmonie, among many other renowned halls. Under Zander’s guidance, the young musicians are offered the opportunity to study orchestral repertoire in a musically dynamic and intellectually challenging community. An important part of this process is the dialogue the musicians are encouraged to make with Zander via ‘white sheets’. These conversations, which begin with a note from a student to their conductor, lead to stimulating discussions on a variety of subjects including personal leadership, communication, musical interpretation, and the rehearsal process itself. Zander’s all-encompassing approach has led to the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra becoming recognized as one of the finest youth orchestras in the world.

In 2002, Zander was awarded the Caring Citizen of the Humanities Award by the United Nations. In 2007, he was awarded the Golden Door award by the International Institute