Warren Benson was born in 1924. He is from Michigan. He is known as a conductor, composer, performer, writer and humorist. He was a teacher as well, and was very influential to many of his students.
Benson went to the Detroit public schools where he was greatly influenced by Gerry Gerard and Selwyn Alvey. In high school, he played in the High School All-City Orchestra and performed with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO). He later attended the University of Michigan, where he studied under Jack Ledingham and Arthur Cooper. In 1946, he was invited to become the timpanist for the DSO.
Benson’s playing career didn’t last, however, because of a surgery that he had to have. He returned to the University of Michigan to get a degree in music theory. After graduating, he went to Europe on two Fulbright teaching fellowships. In 1953, Benson returned to the U.S. to teach percussion and composition at Ithaca College in New York. He only had one percussion ensemble at the time and took them on a tour of the eastern U.S. While at Ithaca, he wrote several percussion pieces including “Three Dances for Solo Snare Drum,” “Streams”, and “Symphony for Drums and Wind Orchestra.” He quit teaching percussion so that he could have more time to compose, though he still taught composition. In 1967, Benson became Professor of Composition at Eastman School of Music. In 1994, Benson was appointed Professor Emeritus at Eastman. He had been teaching for 50 years.
Benson considers himself more of a composer and writer than a percussionist. Percussion has greatly influenced his compositions. He recently wrote a children’s book on all of the instruments, and is currently working on several commissions.
