BEN KEPES  |  ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

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Ben Kepes is the music director and conductor of Ensemble Hochelaga since 2017. This brass ensemble is unique in its integration of military, indigenous and classical repertoire in their concerts. These include: Wagner, Mussorgsky, Holst, Fauré, Grieg, Dukas, Mozart, Monteverdi, and others. In parallel, Ben also served as assistant conductor of the Orchestre a Vents Non Identifié in 2018 – 2020 under Maestro Jonathan Dagenais.

 

In January 2020, Ben founded Orchestre Fidelio, a new orchestra in Montreal, and held auditions in March 2020 just before the first lockdown. Orchestre Fidelio will give its first concert on March 4 2023 at the Chapelle Bonsecours in Old Montréal.

 

Since 2013 Ben has been a regular student of Munich based conductor Konrad von Abel, who continues the artistic legacy of Sergiu Celibidache and the Munich Philharmonic. Based on the phenomenology of music developed by Celibidache, studies under Konrad von Abel represent a central orientation point in Ben’s work as a musician.

 

Ben holds a MMus in orchestral conducting, under the supervision of Alexis Hauser and Alain Cazes, and a BMus in composition from McGill’s Schulich School of Music. Ben’s conducting mentors include as well Carl-August Bünte† and Eduardo Chibás.

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In May 2016 Ben produced and conducted a fundraising concert to benefit St Mary’s Hospital Foundation, and later, in October 2016 Ben collaborated with the Hungarian Embassy to produce a concert commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution. In May 2015 Ben was invited to guest conduct the Orquesta Sinfonica de Venezuela in works of Arutiunian, Tomas and Beethoven. In 2014, Ben served as the apprentice conductor of Boris Brott† and the National Academy Orchestra of Canada. Ben’s earliest conducting experiences include self-formed instrumental ensembles during collegial and university studies, and amateur operatic societies in the Montréal area.

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Ben teaches piano and conducting privately, and has served on the faculty of Marianopolis College in Westmount.

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