Dr. Ben Corbin (NEMC camper ‘98-‘03) maintains an active schedule as a pianist, chamber musician, teacher, and lecturer. Competition prizes include top prize in the Phi Beta Music Competition, 1st place in the OMTA Piano Competition, and 2nd Place in the Coeur d’Alene Symphony Young Artists’ Competition. He has been featured on classical radio KMFA in Austin, TX, WFMT Chicago, and WHRO in Newport News. He has been described as an “incisive” pianist by the Colorado Springs Gazette (2013) and praised for his “sensitivite keyboard work in rendering tender, supportive lines” (Virginia Pilot 2021). Ben has performed at Taiwan’s National Concert Hall and the Dame Myra Hess International Concert Series in Chicago. He has been a featured concerto soloist with the Hampton Roads Philharmonic, the Chesapeake Bay Wind Ensemble, the Virginia Symphony Chamber Orchestra, the University of Oregon Symphony Orchestra, and the Christopher Newport University Wind Ensemble. He has served as principal keyboardist with the Oregon Mozart Players, the Eugene Symphony, Eugene Opera, Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra, The Colorado College Music Festival Orchestra, and the Brevard Festival Symphony Orchestra.
As a vocal coach, Ben has held staff positions with Eugene Opera, the Butler Opera Center, and the John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts. He was also invited as a Faculty Artist for the Torggler Summer Vocal Institute in 2017 and 2019, and has been a featured performer at the Cascadia Composers Festival in Portland, Oregon. Ben was awarded full scholarships in Collaborative Piano to attend the Colorado College Summer Music Festival in 2013 and the Brevard Summer Music Festival in 2014 where teachers included Jon Nakamatsu, William Wolfram, and members of the Ying String Quartet. He has also performed for a number of masterclass clinicians including John Perry, Anne Marie McDermott, Warren Jones, Margo Garrett, John Kamitsuka, Joseph Alessi, Steve Doane, James Ehnes, Lynn Harrel, and Noah Bendix-Balgley.
Dr. Corbin received the Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance from the University of Oregon where he studied with Dean Kramer and David Riley. He also received a second Master of Music and the Doctorate in Musical Arts in Collaborative Piano from The University of Texas at Austin, studying with Anne Epperson and Colette Valentine. While at the University of Oregon, he was awarded Outstanding Undergraduate Performer, Keyboardist, and Collaborative Pianist in 2009, as well as the Outstanding Collaborative Pianist award in 2012. He also was the recipient of the Mary Elizabeth Sherrill Presidential Endowed Award in Music from 2014-2016. As a lecturer, he has presented at the Peninsula Music Teachers Association, the Appomattox Governor’s School, and the University of Texas at Austin. He has also served as a member of the collaborative piano staff at the Meadowmount School of Music in upstate New York, the International Clarinet Festival of Panamá, and New England Music Camp. Dr. Corbin is currently the Associate Professor of Piano and Collaborative Arts at Christopher Newport University, where he also serves as the Director of Keyboard Studies.
