Ben Kinsley | Musician

Ben Kinsley started playing guitar at age 12, mostly self-taught from lesson books as well as trying to imitate the guitarists on the records his older brothers brought home. He played guitar in jazz band and musicals during high school. After high school, Ben started writing and recording original music for various combinations of instruments and voice.

 In the early 80’s he spent two summers in the MIT experimental music program as a composer working in computer music. In 1989 he got married and built a house with his wife, Lynda in Westmore, Vermont. They have two sons and five grandchildren.  In the early 90’s he started devoting more of his time to classical guitar and took some lessons with Christopher Kane at University of New Hampshire, then went on to take private classes with the Brazilian master Carlos Barbosa-Lima.

Ben has attended and performed in master classes with Sharon Isbin, Paulo Bellinati and Lily Afshar, and has taken classes and performed at the Aspen Music Festival. He has also been very active arranging contemporary music for solo guitar, and for voice and guitar.

Carlos Barbosa-Lima is planning to record two of Ben’s arrangements with the Brazilian singer Ithamara Koorax for an upcoming release. A few years ago, Ben wrote and directed the short film “Estrada do Sol” which is about the guitar in the South American culture and features Carlos Barbosa-Lima and has been shown at guitar festivals in Mexico City, Montivideo, and Buenes Aries. Ben is presently performing in the duo “Northern Comfort” with the Canadian singer Sonia Wells. Having worked with Sonia on different community fund-raising events for years, it seemed like a natural progression to collaborate and perform with her on a more consistent basis.

Ben works at the Orleans Division of Ethan Allen Inc. and still lives in Westmore with his wife who fortunately loves to hear him practice!