Brandi Berry Benson

Violinist and 3Arts awardee Brandi Berry Benson, whose "four-string acrobatics" and "indispensable skill" (TimeOut Chicago) have been praised as "alert [and] outstanding" (Chicago Classical Review), as her "riffs.. powered by a flashing blur of bow arm, [as they] rolled out with irresistible glee" (Washington Post). Brandi is Artistic Director of the Bach & Beethoven Experience (BBE), and has performed with numerous ensembles throughout North America including at the Library of Congress, Festival de Musica Virreinal de Durango, Mexico City’s UNAM, the Boston, Berkeley, Houston, Indianapolis, and Madison Early Music Festivals, Early Music Now, the Goodman Theatre, and others. On radio and TV, she has appeared on WGN Daytime, ABC7, WFMT, WGN-AM, WNUR, Chicago Irish Radio, and Wisconsin Public Radio. Brandi has also released four albums with the BBE: A Gaelic Summer (2019), An Appalachian Summer (2019), Chicago Stories (2021), and Carols (2023), as well as her own, Silver Linings (2023). In November 2023, she premiered her new work for period and indigenous instruments called The Story of Pa I Sha, based on the stories of her Chickasaw ancestors. In February 2026, she premiered Songs of the Chickasaws, a series of new works based on the stories of five heroes of the Chickasaw Nation. Brandi serves on the faculty of Northwestern and DePaul Universities where she teaches courses on Baroque music and Native American music. She is a faculty affiliate with Northwestern's Center for Native American and Indigenous Research. For more information: www.brandiberrybenson.com and bbexperience.org.