Ben
Hoppe
A keen interest in opera and other stage works, Ben is particularly interested in writing music that features both complexity and accessibility.
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Schedule
Recent Highlights
Description
In this six month elective, composer David Sawer and writer Jessica Walker have facilitated the creative process between writer and composer, promoting an understanding of how to write dynamically for sung theatre. The scenes have been rehearsed by Academy singers, conductors, and student pianists, with stage direction by Sophie Daneman.
Ben Hoppe
Composer
Dates
Description
Performance of pieces written by Master's students in response to artwork found at the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester.
Ben Hoppe
Composer
Dates
Biography
Born in Chicago, Ben Hoppe grew up surrounded by world-class artistic organizations that would have a deep impact on his future endeavors. Beginning on piano at a young age, he would become involved in bands, choirs and orchestras throughout his adolescence. At 13, Ben started to find interest in writing his own music, leading him to find composition as a primary area of study.
Ben has written for a variety of ensembles, ranging from solo piano to full orchestra. Recent premieres include chamber works for both the Pallant House in Chichester and the Roberts Institute of Art. He is especially drawn, though, to theatre and opera writing. With very early experiences performing at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, he felt instantly drawn to works for the stage. His studies at IU took him to Vienna in the spring of 2022, where he began extensive study of the operas of Germanic composers, specifically Richard Strauss and Alban Berg. This cumulated in a research paper regarding Wozzeck’s role in the current operatic canon. Ben also recently premiered a scene for three singers and piano, which he is currently reworking into a full-length stage work (to be premiered in 2025). His music has also previously been performed by the PRISM Quartet, the Big Red Horn Ensemble (including a performance of his horn octet, Alpenstimmen, at the 2023 International Horn Society Symposium in Montréal), and the Indiana University Symphonic Band.
Now based in London, Ben is currently working on his Master of Music at the Royal Academy of Music on a one-year intensive course. He received his Bachelor of Music at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 2019.
