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The English pianist, composer, organist and harpsichordist, Ben Comiceau, started his musical career as a chorister at the Truro Cathedral. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music with Honours from the University of Cambridge (2011-2014). He has an LRSM diploma with high distinction on piano, as well as an FRCO diploma on organ. At the age of 18 he won the inaugural Northern Ireland International Organ Competition (2011), playing part of his own transcription of Igor Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. He recently passed his FRCO organ diploma exam with all the available prizes, and was the organ scholar at Girton College, Cambridge for three years (Sepember 2011-June 2014). He is currently studying jazz piano part-time at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Ben Comeau is increasingly well-known in both the classical and jazz scenes in London. He is active as a pianist, composer and organist. As a composer he has written and performed two piano concertos, performing the second in venues including Birmingham Symphony Hall and St. Martin's in the Fields. He has been asked to compose for the Britten Sinfonia (who performed the resulting work at the Wigmore Hall), the choirs of St. John's College Cambridge and Truro Cathedral, the King's Lynn Festival, Choir and Organ Magazine and many more.
As a pianist, Ben Comeau was recently featured on BBC Radio 3's 'In Tune' programme, where he performed improvisations around material by J.S. Bach and Piazzolla. He has performed concertos by J.S. Bach, W.A. Mozart, Francis Poulenc and Gershwin, as well as Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time; highlights of his solo repertoire include much of J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit, and numerous contemporary works by composers including György Ligeti, Kaija Saariaho, Robin Holloway and Thomas Adès. As an accompanist he has worked with internationally renowned soloists including Sir John Tomlinson, Andrew Kennedy and Nicholas Mulroy, choirs, chamber groups, jazz ensembles, big bands, early music groups, contemporary music ensembles, pop groups, orchestras, and more. Examples of previous accompaniment work include Schubert's Die Schöne Müllerin (with Nicholas Mulroy), Robert Schumann's Dichterliebe, Debussy's Ariettes oubliées, and much contemporary music. He has much continuo experience on harpsichord and chamber organ (numerous J.S. Bach cantatas and concertos, as well as works by Monteverdi, J.S. Bach, Heinrich Schütz, etc), and he is also a pipe organist with extensive experience accompanying church services and giving solo recitals. Organ recital venues have included twelve Cambridge colleges, as well as several English cathedrals and Ulster Hall, Belfast.
Ben Comeau is increasingly in demand as a jazz pianist. He recently performed with his jazz trio to high acclaim at the New Generation Festival in Florence; other performance venues have included the Union Chapel, Islington, and the Vortex Jazz Club, Dalston. He has just recorded an album of improvised free music with renowned singer Paula Rae Gibson, to hopefully be released next year. He is also known for accompanying up-and-coming cabaret act Bounder & Cad.
Ben Comeau is very interested in the interplay and relationships between different styles of music. Recital programmes frequently include an eclectic mix of genres and styles, from J.S. Bach to Frédéric Chopin to Debussy to Art Tatum to Pink Floyd to Ligeti. Improvisation forms a large part of his work, both in classical styles and jazz styles, and sometimes mixing the two. He has improvised soundtracks on the organ and piano to the silent films Phantom of the Opera, Nosferatu and Battleship Potemkin. His compositions have been performed in venues including the Wigmore Hall and Birmingham Symphony Hall.
As a teacher Ben Comeau has been employed by Cambridge University to teach harmony, counterpoint, pastiche composition, keyboard skills and aural skills (October 2014-June 2018), and he has also taught the latter at Middlesex University (September 2017-January 2018). |
