On Sunday, February 10th, at 2:30 pm in the Valparaiso High School auditorium, the VHS "A" Band and Concert Band will perform their Winter Band Concert. The concert will feature 2006 VHS graduate, Ben Kenis, on saxophone.
Ben Kenis is currently a second year masters student in Music Performance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studies saxophone with Professor Debra Richtmeyer. He also did his undergraduate studies at the UofI, where he received dual degrees in Music Performance and Music Education. Ben was a member of the Cerulean Saxophone Quartet, which won first place in the 2012 Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Competition in New York City and made the semi-finals of the 2012 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. He was also a member of the UIUC Saxophone Ensemble, which recorded World Without Words: Debra Richtmeyer and the UIUC 2008-2009 Saxophone Studio.
Ben has participated in recordings with the UofI Wind Symphony, which he was a member of for 4 years. In 2009, Ben traveled to Paris and received additional saxophone studies with Claude Delangle, Professor of Saxophone at the Paris Conservatory and Jean-Yves Fourmeau, current saxophone soloist for the Berlin Philharmonic.
Ben also works in the music admissions office at the UofI and is also the music director at Montessori Habitat School in Champaign, where he teaches band and general music. Ben graduated from Valparaiso High School in 2006 and feels fortunate to have been a part of such a wonderful music program.