Ben Cantrell has been an educator, performer, adjudicator, and clinician for nearly 20 years.  He has performed with numerous ensembles across the country, as well as in multi-city tours in Europe and Asia.  Some of his more notable performances have been for the VA/DC Day of Percussion, North Carolina Day of Percussion, and the Jazz Educator Network Conference.  Recently, he has performed with the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra in North Carolina, the Johnson City Orchesta in Tennessee, the Sacred Winds ensemble of Pikeville, KY, and Barter Theatre of Abingdon, VA.

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In August of 2020, Ben accepted a Visiting Assistant Professor position at Morehead State University. There, he teaches private applied lessons for BME, BM, BA students along the Jazz and Commercial Music majors. He directs the percussion ensemble, marching percussion sections, and the steel band.

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Ben received a DMA in Percussion Performance from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro with Dr. Eric Willie, a Master of Arts in Music from Radford University under Dr. Rob Sanderl, and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Morehead State University under Dr. Brian Mason.

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Ben is proud to be an educational artist for Mapex Drums, Majestic Concert Percussion, Innovative Percussion, and Zildjian. He is a member of the educator network for Black Swamp Percussion and the Health & Wellness Committee for the Percussive Arts Society.