Expressive and dynamic fagotist, Benjamin Coelho, is a requested teacher as a lecturer, performer, and a record artist. His academic and artistic work his reach covers more than fifteen countries on five continents. Benjamin, as an award-winning musician, participated and performed in chamber music concerts, and was a soloist and a bassoonist in several orchestras across Brazil and the United States.
He has been a bassoon professor at the University of Iowa since 1998 and previously was a bassoon professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais. He is currently a solo bassoon of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra (USA) and a member of the Voxman Pallet Trio.
Benjamin was born in Tatuí, Brazil, began his bassoon studies at the age of 10 at the Tatuí Conservatory of Music. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Purchase Conservatory (USA), a master’s degree in music from the Manhattan School of Music, and additional graduate studies at Indiana University (USA). His bassoon teachers were: Clóvis Franco, Donald MacCourt, Arthur Weisberg, Noel Devos, and Kim Walker. Benjamin is an enthusiastic advocate and promoter of new and diverse music. He commissioned, executed, and recorded many works by Latin American, American, and European composers. As a record artist, he released seven critically acclaimed CDs and received praise from numerous national and international publications.
Professor Benjamin, is his favorite title in teaching, he finds great joy and satisfaction as a teacher and pedagogue. He is an artist invited to teach in several courses and workshops around the world. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he continued his teaching, via Zoom, from the basement of his house. During this time, he ministered more than thirty master classes and live sessions for students from Latin America and the United States. His students were accepted in prestige graduate programs, music festivals and successfully obtained national and international teaching positions in public schools, colleges, universities, orchestras and the music industry. In recent years, he has had the privilege of being part of the faculty of the Santa Catarina Music Festival – FEMUSC. In addition, he taught at bassoon festivals in Argentina, the Czech Republic, France, Guatemala and Panama.
Throughout his career, Benjamin also dedicated himself to academic management. At the University of Iowa, for over 24 years, he served in four different positions as an associate director at the School of Music. His greatest honor was to be chosen by his colleagues to act as the interim director of the School of Music during the 2018-2019 school year. He was recently appointed vice president of the International Double Reed Society and is currently serving his three-year term. Before taking office at the University of Iowa, Benjamin was elected by professors, staff and students as deputy director of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil) for a four-year term.
Benjamin resides in Iowa City, Iowa with his beloved wife Karen and wonderful daughters Liliana and Julia.