Ben Leonard

Teacher

Private Lesson Offerings

Bass (All Levels)
Subtractive Synthesis and Patch Creation
Dance Music Creation and Production
Drum Programming and Sequencing

Ben's Biography

Ben was born and raised here in Staunton and bought his first electric bass and amplifier when he was 15 years old. His adoration of Rush records and learning them note-for-note provided a contrast to his theater work, playing for several years in orchestra pits for the First Year Players at the University of Virginia as well as productions by the Heritage Repertory Theatre in Charlottesville. His musical wanderings eventually led him to Boston, where he received his B.A. in Film Scoring from the Berklee College of Music. In addition to his electric bass studies he immersed himself in music technology, jazz composition, and arranging. He has played with Latin jazz and funk ensembles, jazz combos, and too many rock bands to count. He has also contributed production work to releases by Philadelphia hip hop artists Zilla Rocca and Curly Castro.

In recent years Ben has become increasingly drawn to electronic music and exploring the sonic colors and textures that synthesizers can produce. He has been working in the live events industry for over ten years and also serves as the General Manager and Program Director for 106.3 WQSV, Staunton's only independent radio station. He currently writes, records, and performs deep house with an all-hardware setup and electric bass under the name FUSES.