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Bio (updated 2/2022):
Dr. Benjamin Safran's research, which they have presented at national and regional conferences across the country, includes interdisciplinary approaches to studying music and social justice, protest music, identity studies, hermeneutics, pedagogy, media studies, and ecomusicology. Ben’s dissertation is on contemporary classical composers' uses of social justice and political themes in their concert music, for which they were awarded a dissertation completion grant from Temple University. They have presented at a variety of national conferences including those of the American Musicological Society, International Association for the Study of Popular Music-US, Music and the Moving Image, and Feminist Theory in Music. Ben's scholarly articles have appeared in the Yale Journal of Music and Religion and are forthcoming in the Journal of the Society for American Music. They have also written for the Broad Street Review.
In addition to writing about Philadelphia's activism, Ben has been part of several campaigns and social movements and currently is serving as co-clerk of the board of directors of Earth Quaker Action Team, which engages in nonviolent direct action for environmental justice.
Ben's compositions have been performed throughout the United States, including by Network for New Music, Dolce Suono Ensemble, Atlantic Music Festival Orchestra, Calliope, Temple Composers' Orchestra, Temple University New Music Ensemble, and by titled members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Ben has been commissioned by world-championship ice skater Brooke Frieling, Philadelphia's Kaleid Theater, and Boston's Commonwealth School, and is a winner of the 2017 Dolce Suono Ensemble Steven Stucky Young Composers Award and the 2018 Richard Duris Award for excellence in classical music.
A native of Massachusetts and currently based in Providence, in May 2019 Ben completed a Ph.D. in music from Temple University. Ben also earned a M.Mus. in composition from Temple and a B.A. in music from Haverford College with minors in education and the growth and structure of cities. They have taught courses in music history, theory, and race and diversity studies at Temple University, from seminars on the music of Philadelphia to music in environmental activism. They are currently working as the academic programs coordinator at the Cogut Institute for the Humanities at Brown University.
Bio (updated 2/2022):
Dr. Benjamin Safran's research, which they have presented at national and regional conferences across the country, includes interdisciplinary approaches to studying music and social justice, protest music, identity studies, hermeneutics, pedagogy, media studies, and ecomusicology. Ben’s dissertation is on contemporary classical composers' uses of social justice and political themes in their concert music, for which they were awarded a dissertation completion grant from Temple University. They have presented at a variety of national conferences including those of the American Musicological Society, International Association for the Study of Popular Music-US, Music and the Moving Image, and Feminist Theory in Music. Ben's scholarly articles have appeared in the Yale Journal of Music and Religion and are forthcoming in the Journal of the Society for American Music. They have also written for the Broad Street Review.
In addition to writing about Philadelphia's activism, Ben has been part of several campaigns and social movements and currently is serving as co-clerk of the board of directors of Earth Quaker Action Team, which engages in nonviolent direct action for environmental justice.
Ben's compositions have been performed throughout the United States, including by Network for New Music, Dolce Suono Ensemble, Atlantic Music Festival Orchestra, Calliope, Temple Composers' Orchestra, Temple University New Music Ensemble, and by titled members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Ben has been commissioned by world-championship ice skater Brooke Frieling, Philadelphia's Kaleid Theater, and Boston's Commonwealth School, and is a winner of the 2017 Dolce Suono Ensemble Steven Stucky Young Composers Award and the 2018 Richard Duris Award for excellence in classical music.
A native of Massachusetts and currently based in Providence, in May 2019 Ben completed a Ph.D. in music from Temple University. Ben also earned a M.Mus. in composition from Temple and a B.A. in music from Haverford College with minors in education and the growth and structure of cities. They have taught courses in music history, theory, and race and diversity studies at Temple University, from seminars on the music of Philadelphia to music in environmental activism. They are currently working as the academic programs coordinator at the Cogut Institute for the Humanities at Brown University.