Originally from Monroe, Georgia, Ben Smith is an avid orchestral flutist and chamber musician. Ben has held performances in France, Italy, Germany, Canada, and South Korea. He is a substitute musician with the New World Symphony and the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, and is a founding member of ZaRiah.

Last year, Ben was featured on the 2024 National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic’s ‘American Classics’ album under the baton of David Alan Miller. His past summer festival engagements include the National Orchestral Institute, Festival International de Musique Classique à Puget, and Orford Musique.

Ben is pursuing his Masters of Music at the Yale School of Music under the tutelage of Tara Helen O’Connor. He received his Bachelors of Music studying with Alexa Still at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and, in 2022, he lived in Seoul, South Korea where he studied with Minji Kim and Seonah Jang. Ben previously studied with Kelly Via at the Atlanta Music Academy.

Outside of his time playing the flute, Ben enjoys writing. He served as a blogger on behalf of Oberlin College’s Office of Admissions during his four years as a student and was the featured guest author in the April 2023 edition of The Flute Examiner Magazine.