Piano Teacher
Benjamin Downs began his studies at age 4 with Annette Trofimov Freeze, a family friend of Sergei Rachmaninov. Soon after his initial studies, he began studies with Dr. Paul Wirth at the Central Minnesota Music School. Since that time, he has studied with pianists Ian Hobson, Rebecca Penneys, Arie Vardi, and is now a doctoral student of Professor James Tocco at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music.
Benjamin has been a finalist in the Chautauqua International Piano Competition twice, and was awarded the Rebecca Penney’s Lyricism Award. He was awarded Honorable Mention and, the following year, runner-up in the MTNA piano competition. In 2004, he was awarded the DAAD fellowship for study at the Hochschule for Musik in Hannover, Germany, making him one of only five students in North America awarded this honor.
He is a founding member of the Piace Duo, a performing arts duo comprised of himself and his wife, Rebeccah Parker Downs, an accomplished cellist who is currently principal cellist of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. Together they maintain an active performance schedule in the Cincinnati area and select venues throughout the United States.
Ben has been teaching privately since he was 17 years old. Since that time, he has taught students ranging from age 3 through 53. He was a Teaching Assistant at the University of Illinois where he was responsible for teaching many students, including those pursuing music as a career. He currently teaches at the Musical Arts Center in Cincinnati, OH.
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