Dedicated to connecting audiences to the music of the 20th and 21st centuries, Chicago-based Ben Melsky is Executive Director and harpist of the internationally-acclaimed Ensemble Dal Niente. In close collaboration with composers and performers he encourages the creation of new work to break pre-conceived notions of the harp’s capabilities, activating new techniques, sounds, and performance practices. Ben’s concert activities include national and international appearances in solo and chamber ensemble configurations. Recent performances include the Walt Disney Concert Hall for the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Noon to Midnight, Phillips Collection Washington DC, Radialsystem Berlin, International Forum for New Music Mexico City, the Metropolitan Museum of Art NYC, the Ecstatic Music Festival, and Art Institute of Chicago.
Ben received his Doctorate of Musical Arts from Northwestern University where he studied with Elizabeth Cifani and also where he received both B.M. and M.M. He was a student participant in the 2016 Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music where he worked with harpist Gunnhildur Einarsdottir.