Benjamin Abel, Violin

Benjamin Abel is a violinist from Indianapolis, IN. From 2012-2016, Benjamin attended Butler University’s Jordan College of the Arts on full scholarship. Benjamin studied with Larry Shapiro. While at Butler, Benjamin was Concertmaster of the Butler Symphony Orchestra and Winner of Butler’s Concerto Competition.  

In 2016 and 2017 Benjamin attended the prestigious Castleman Quartet program. In 2017 Benjamin suffered a serious injury to his left hand which forced him to teach himself to play again from scratch. In 2018, following a successful recovery, Benjamin was awarded a Graduate Orchestral Fellowship at Britt Festival and was offered a full scholarship and stipend at the Frost School of Music as a Henry Mancini Fellow. He studied with Charles Castleman and Scott Flavin. While at Frost, Benjamin was Concertmaster of the Henry Mancini Institute, Principal Second Violin of the Frost Symphony Orchestra, and was featured in masterclasses with Sylvia Marcovici and Gerard Schwarz. He graduated with his MM in violin performance in 2020. 

Benjamin is a dynamic chamber musician and has coached with Laurie Carney, Csaba Erdelyi, Jodie Levitz, Alan Harris, Terry King, and Laura Bossert. In New York Benjamin has performed concerts with Cosmopolitan Chamber Players and Vista Lyrica. He has performed chamber music works alongside Eric Grossman, Beth Levin, Eric Shumsky, and Richard Deane. His family quartet, the Abel Family Quartet, has appeared on various chamber music series around the country, including Sioux City Chamber Music, Tippecanoe Chamber Music Society, and Finger Lakes Chamber Music Festival.  

A dedicated orchestral musician, Benjamin has appeared as guest concertmaster with the Kokomo Symphony and Hendricks Symphony, and has played under the batons of Gerard Schwarz, Teddy Abrams, Richard Auldon Clark, Larry Rachleff, and Carl St. Clair. 

Benjamin is a passionate teacher. Since 2014 he has taught private lessons for Butler Community Art School, and also maintains a personal studio of private violin and viola students in Indianapolis.  He is currently a DMA student at the University of Cincinnati-CCM and studies with Timothy Lees.