Benjamin Zander

Benjamin Zander started his early musical training in his native England with cello and composition lessons under the guidance of his father. When he was nine, Benjamin Britten, England's leading composer, took an interest in his development and invited the family to spend three summers in Aldeburgh in Suffolk where he lived. This led to a long association with Britten and lessons in theory and composition from Britten’s close associate Imogen Holst, daughter of Gustav Holst.

In 1967, Zander joined the faculty of the New England Conservatory, where he taught the interpretation class, conducted the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, and regularly conducted the conservatory orchestras. Twenty years ago, he became the artistic director of the joint program between NEC and Walnut Hill, a boarding high school for the performing arts in Natick, Massachusetts. During his tenure as conductor of the New England Conservatory Youth Philharmonic, he took the orchestra on over a dozen international tours and made five commercial recordings and several PBS documentaries. In 1979, he became the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra.

Zander has established an international reputation as a guest conductor. He has a unique relationship with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London and is recording a series of Beethoven and Mahler symphonies for the Telarc label with them. His recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 3 was awarded the 2004 Critic’s Choice by the German Record Critic’s Award Association, and his recording of Mahler’s 9th Symphony was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Zander has an extensive speaking career, traveling the world lecturing to organizations on leadership. He has appeared four times as a keynote speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he was presented with the Crystal Award for "outstanding contributions in the arts and international relations." The best-selling book The Art of Possibility, co-authored with his partner, leading psychotherapist Rosamund Zander, has been translated into 16 languages.