Biography
Since entering the world of professional music in 1972, Benjamin Kamins has enjoyed a wide-ranging career as an orchestral musician, chamber player, solo performer, and educator. Before his appointment as Principal Bassoon with the Houston Symphony, he served nine years as Associate Principal Bassoon with the Minnesota Orchestra.
In addition to his years in the Minnesota and Houston Symphonies, Mr. Kamins served as a guest principal with other major orchestras in Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Boston, and New York. His tenure in the orchestra world has resulted in many solo performances and recordings, including a recording of the Mozart Bassoon Concerto with conductor Christoph Eschenbach and the Houston Symphony.
In Houston, he extended his artistic life in music to academic institutions and the communities they serve. As the Lynette S. Autrey Professor of Bassoon at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, Mr. Kamins continues to be an advocate for young musicians and classical music performance. His former students now populate a wide range of symphony orchestras and academic positions in North America.
Mr. Kamins spends his summers teaching and performing throughout the U.S. He currently is on the faculty of the Music Academy of the West and teaches at The Interlochen School for the Arts Intensives and the Sarasota Music Festival.
Recording projects include the complete sonatas for two oboes, bassoon and continuo by Jan Dismas Zelenka for Crystal Records: the first complete recording of these pieces by American performers on modern instruments. His solo CD of French recital pieces is available on Apple Music and Spotify.
Large-scale projects contributing to the worldwide bassoon community include collaborations with composers on new works, two new study editions published by Presser, and recent work with Fox Products in developing a new professional model bassoon.
Benjamin Kamins is certified to teach the Alexander Technique through Alexander Technique International. He teaches Alexander Technique classes with his wife, Janet Rarick, at Rice University, and at the summer festivals where he teaches.
Mr. Kamins also enjoys his work with the baroque bassoon. He performs regularly with Ars Lyrica Houston.
