Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Dorfan.
Ben, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I have wanted to play the piano for as long as I can remember. My early teachers encouraged my interest in composition, and a pivotal moment came before I had even entered high school, when UC Santa Cruz professor Linda Burman-Hall heard one of my pieces and invited me to join her music theory class.
The summer before my senior year of high school, I attended the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. For the first time, I felt that I had found my people. Composition stopped being merely an interest and became my calling.
I went on to study music at Oberlin College before returning to Santa Cruz and building a life as a pianist, teacher, and composer. That path changed in my early thirties, when I developed an autoimmune illness that forced me to reconsider the artistic future I had imagined. I redirected my focus toward composition and returned to UC Santa Cruz for graduate study, where I am now completing my doctorate.
I continue to perform chamber music professionally, but composition has become my primary artistic focus. In recent years, I have received commissions from the Earhart Trio, Nisene Ensemble, New Music Works, and others. My creative work has also benefited from funding provided by Arts Council Santa Cruz County, the University of California, and InterMusic SF.
My growing interest in Korean traditional music led me to Seoul in summer 2025 for intensive study at the International Gugak Workshop. Today, I divide my time among composing, teaching piano, completing my dissertation, and serving as General Manager of Santa Cruz Chamber Players. After nearly a decade serving on the board of the Santa Cruz County Branch of the Music Teachers’ Association of California, I was elected to the association’s State Board of Directors in 2025.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My path as an artist has not always been smooth. Living with an autoimmune illness can be unpredictable: there are periods when I can work and perform normally, and others when pain and fatigue sharply limit what I can do. One of the hardest parts has been the uncertainty. Musicians are trained to believe that disciplined effort will produce results, but illness does not necessarily respond to determination or accommodate a carefully made schedule.
Reconsidering the future I had imagined for myself involved a real sense of loss. Over time, however, I have learned to redirect my ambitions without framing that redirection as a defeat. Reaffirming composition as the center of my artistic life has opened possibilities that I might not otherwise have pursued.
My wife and I are also raising two young children, and balancing family life with a career in the arts brings its own set of challenges. Teaching, rehearsals, concerts, and administrative work often take place during evenings and weekends, while composing requires time that can be difficult to protect. I have had to become more realistic about how creative work fits into a full life. I often make progress in smaller stretches than I once imagined, but I have learned that a creative life does not have to be uninterrupted to be meaningful.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I compose primarily for small ensembles, and I am especially drawn to music that meets listeners on more than one level: immediately engaging on the surface, but rhythmically and metrically intricate underneath. Cycles and repetition often provide the bridge between those qualities, while minimalism, natural systems, literature, and Korean traditional music offer recurring points of reference.
Much of my chamber music grows out of my lifelong relationship with the piano. More recently, my interest in resonance, touch, and layered patterns has led me toward mallet percussion and plucked zither instruments such as the Korean gayageum and Chinese guzheng. Across my work, I am especially proud of collaborations with Santa Cruz Chamber Players, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, percussionist William Winant, the Del Sol Quartet, members of the National Gugak Center Orchestra, and guzheng performer Hui You.
Composing and practicing the piano can both be solitary activities. My teaching, both privately and at UC Santa Cruz, my work managing Santa Cruz Chamber Players, and my service on the state board of the Music Teachers’ Association of California provide a rewarding counterbalance and keep me closely connected to the musical community in Santa Cruz County and across California.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
People who know me primarily through music may be surprised that I used to race road bikes and was once an avid surfer. My activities these days are a bit more tame—mostly swimming laps at Simpkins—but I still love downhill skiing and try to catch the occasional powder day when good snow, childcare, and a rare day off all happen to align.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bendorfan.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/byrdpapa/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bdorfan
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-dorfan/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BenDorfan
Image Credits
Tim Sexton
