Ben Schoeman is one of South Africa’s foremost pianists and the winner of the 2011 Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Music. In 2008 he became the first South African in history to win the first grand prize in the 11th UNISA Vodacom International Piano Competition in Pretoria.

In 2009 he also won the coveted gold medal and first prize in the Royal Over-Seas League Music Competition in London.

He regularly performs concertos with the leading South African symphony orchestras, including the Johannesburg, KwaZulu-Natal and Cape Philharmonic Orchestras. He also regularly gives solo and chamber music recitals throughout South Africa. His recent nationwide tour of 23 concerts received rave reviews and he was praised for his “dazzling virtuosity” (Pretoria News) as well as his “magical music-making” (Classic Feel Magazine). His performance with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra of Brahms’s Piano Concerto no. 2 was described as “powerful…with enormous musical insight and pianistic ability” (Die Burger).

Ben Schoeman gave performances across Europe, Canada and the United Kingdom. He played in prestigious concert halls, such as the Wigmore Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, the Grande Auditorio of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, the Romanian Atheneum in Bucharest, the Teatro del Giglio in Lucca, the Paleis Het Loo in the Netherlands, Schloss Moritzburg in Dresden and the Konzerthaus in Berlin. He also gave recitals at various international festivals, among others the Chester Festival and King’s Lynn Festival (United Kingdom), the Festival da Bach a Bartók and the Festival Pianistico “Mario Ghislandi” (Italy), the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival (Canada) and the Crans-Montana Semaines Musicales (Switzerland). He has collaborated with internationally-acclaimed musicians, such as Matei Varga, Andrian Pinzaru, Dawid Venter, Tessa Uys and Anzél Gerber.

He obtained a Masters in Performing Arts (cum laude) from the University of Pretoria, as well as a Master Diploma from the Accademia Pianistica ‘Incontri col Maestro’ in Imola, Italy. He is currently undertaking a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at City University of London and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He has studied with well-known musicians, including Joseph Stanford, Michel Dalberto, Louis Lortie, Boris Petrushansky and Ronan O’Hora.

In 2008 he received the prestigious Laureate Award from the University of Pretoria Alumni Association for his achievements as well as his contribution to music in South Africa. Salon Music and UNISA recently launched his DVD-recording of concertos by Mozart and Tchaikovsky. His solo album with works of Franz Liszt was released in April 2011 under the TwoPianists label.

Ben Schoeman is supported by the Dr Gerhard Weiler Award, the Gladys M Shelton Bequest and the Isabella Spiers van Beers Award. He also gratefully acknowledges the support from the following:

- Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation
- The National Research Foundation (NRF)
- Standard Bank
- The Worshipful Company of Cordwainers
- City University, London
- The Guildhall School of Music and Drama Trust
- The University of Pretoria
- The University of South Africa
- The UNISA Music Foundation
- The Italian Institute of Culture – Pretoria
- The Southern African Music Rights Organisation (the SAMRO Endowment for the National Arts)