Cellist Benjamin Lash began studying cello at the age of six with Dean Bachus and Tanya Carey. In his early teens, as a first place winner of multiple Chicago area competitions, he performed concertos by Saint-Saens, Shostakovich, Hindemith and Haydn. At age 17, Mr. Lash performed Bloch’s Schelomo with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra in Symphony Center. More recent concerto performances include Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations and Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C Major with the Colburn Orchestra, and Dvorak’s Cello Concerto with the Brentwood Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Lash has performed recitals on the Music in the Loft Series in Chicago and in Texel, Netherlands. Radio broadcasts include two appearances on NPR’s From the Top, and the Dame Myra Hess Concert series recital at the Chicago Cultural Center broadcast live on WFMT. An active chamber musician, his performances include the Mendelssohn Octet with Ani and Ida Kavafian, a radio broadcast of the Mendelssohn Quartet Op. 41, No. 1 on American Public Media Performance Today, a Los Angeles chamber series with violist Paul Coletti, and a performance of the Martinu String Sextet with cellist Alisa Weilerstein at the Aspen Festival.

Mr. Lash has participated in summer festivals in the U.S. and Europe, including the Sarasota Music Festival, Taos, Aspen, Holland International Music Sessions, and Fortissimo Fest in Sofia, Bulgaria. He taught in the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA) mentorship program and was a Colburn Teaching Fellow.

In May 2013, Mr. Lash graduated from the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, where he studied with Ronald Leonard. He is currently enrolled in the Master of Music program at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, where he studies with Ralph Kirshbaum.