Conductor

WOS is excited to be introducing our new, young and inspiring conductor, Benjamin Niemczyk. No stranger to WOS, Benjamin has been our official photographer and graphic designer, and has on occasion added his rich bass/baritone vocals to our concerts. Welcome Benjamin. We are delighted to have you on board and we look forward to your artistic leadership and inspiration. Click here to read an online interview about Ben.

At work both in front of and behind the camera, Benjamin Niemczyk is an artist of uncommon range. Balancing his time between photography, graphic design, singing and conducting, he gave his debut as conductor of the Civic Orchestra of the Chicago Symphony in a staged performance of Saint-Saëns Carnival of the Animals in 2000. Since that time, he has sung in the most admired concert halls of Chicago and New York. Having studied under contemporary music gurus Cliff Colnot and Harold Rosenbaum, he gave his Town Hall conducting debut in 2004, his European debut in the south of France in 2004 and continues to participate in concert performances at such venues as Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall as well as on national television and in feature films. He can be heard on numerous commercial recordings, particularly those of early music. He is a founding member of C4 (Choral Composer/Conductor Collective, www.c4ensemble.org), the nation's largest new music choral ensemble and looks forward to continued sold-out performances in NYC and elsewhere. He is a strong advocate of the production and performance of new music of all genres and musical languages. He comes to WOS with an equally steadfast commitment to preserving music of the past, cementing it into the modern musical canon, especially works of the mid and late Romantic period.

In addition to his musical interests,
Mr. Niemczyk is an accomplished photographer and graphic designer, having created advertising materials for companies including Hal Leonard, G. Schirmer and Lyric Opera of Chicago and numerous small arts organizations. His design business, BDN Design (www.bdndesign.com), specializes in advertising materials and art photography, particularly of and for the NYC area.

Not a stranger to Westchester Oratorio Society, Mr. Niemczyk has often taken the reins in the absence of its past conductor, as he has done for The Canticum Novum Singers, an ensemble of which he was a member from 2003-2007. Future projects include increased work with WOS and C4 as well as a broad proliferation of photography projects beyond the east and into the Midwest. Mr. Niemczyk holds two degrees in composition from Wheaton College Conservatory of Music and the DePaul University School of Music. He resides in Brooklyn, NYC.