Since winning the British Contemporary Piano Competition in 2010 Benjamin Powell has gained a reputation for intelligent and expressive performances with a strong commitment to music of the present day. He has performed across the UK and Europe as a soloist, chamber musician, and song accompanist in venues including Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, Snape Maltings, Bridgewater Hall, IRCAM, and Harpa. In the West End he has taken the piano chair in the celebrated revival of Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” and performed selections from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier for Sir Tom Stoppard’s “The Hard Problem” at the National Theatre.

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From 2014-2023 he was the pianist for Manchester’s leading new music group, Psappha. Through his work with Psappha and elsewhere he has given over a hundred world premieres, working closely with established and emerging composers across the UK and internationally.

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Benjamin is much in demand as a chamber music partner and has collaborated with many distinguished musicians including Leland Chen, Toby Hughes, Craig Ogden, Miklós Perényi, Thomas Riebl, Sophie Rosa, and Abel Selacoe. He regulars appears as pianist with the BBC Philharmonic, the Hallé, Manchester Camerata, Royal Northern Sinfonia, and in new music groups across the UK.

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He studied at the Royal Northern College of Music with Carole Presland and later with Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Alexander Melnikov at the Hochschule für Musik Cologne, and with Thomas Adès in Prussia Cove.

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Benjamin is a professor of piano at the RNCM and Chetham’s School of Music, and has been a staff pianist at the RNCM since 2007. His students have gone on to win prizes in major competitions, including BBC Young Musician of the Year, James Mottram International Competition, Manchester International Piano Concerto Competition and the British Contemporary Piano Competition.

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He is passionate about inclusivity and access to the performing arts and gives regular performances for children and adults with SEND through his work with Carrot Productions.

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Benjamin was born and raised in West Sussex and currently lives in Glossop with his wife and three children, where he is part of the artistic team that produces the Glossop Music Festival.