Benjamin Opie

Artist Lecturer in Music Technology

Bio

Ben Opie teaches music technology at both Carnegie Mellon and CAPA High School. He is also the founder and coach of CAPA Antithesis, the school's groundbreaking avant-garde ensemble.

Outside of academic life, Ben is highly active as a composer and arranger, and performer on reeds and electronics. He currently performs with Thoth Trio (intense acoustic jazz), OPEK (reduced size big band), Dust and Feathers (improvisation with text), and the Syrinx Ensemble (improvisation with live birds). Ben has recordings available by Thoth Trio, Water Shed 5tet, Coal Train, among numerous others.

In 1996, he received the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Creative Achievement Award for his work as a composer and saxophonist. Ben has received composition commissions from the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, First Night Pittsburgh, and the Woodland Hills School District.

Ben did undergraduate studies at Carnegie Mellon and Duquesne University, where he graduated cum laude with a degree in music education.