Benjamin Nelson was born in Maryland.  Classically trained as a cellist, Nelson’s focus quickly shifted to electronic music, which he studied along with composition and theory at Northestern University (BS, 2008). 

Nelson has toured throughout the US and Europe as both a solo performer and a member of various bands and ensembles.  Collaborators have included Keith Fullerton Whitman, Brendan Murray, Eli Keszler, Katarina Miljkovic, and others.

Influenced by early minimalism, Nelson’s music focuses on extremes such as duration, volume, or lack thereof to explore their effects on hearing, stream separation, and to reveal often hidden but dramatic shifts in overtones, spectrum and phase.  Integrating electronics, acoustic sound, and environment Nelson seeks to avoid the often sterile trappings associated with generative or systematic composition, as well as the overly spiritual , falsely mystified, or passive listening notions associated with long form music.

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Benjamin Nelson is also the assistant director and co-curator of Non-Event, owner/operator of Sound Pool, and an artist representative for classical/contemporary musicians.