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The English-born choral conductor (with British and German roots), Benjamin Goodson, studied studied music and musicology at Hertford College, University of Oxford. Furthermore he studied conducting with renowned teachers and conductors like Sir Colin Davis, Paul Spicer, Peter Stark and Ulrich Windfuhr.
Benjamin Goodson quickly built up an impressive career, as - among other posts - Music Director of the award-winning Bath Camerata (April 2015) and later also Chorus Master at the Dorset Opera Festival. In October 2015, he was appointed Director of Music at Somerville College, becoming the University of Oxford's youngest Director of Music. He gave up this position for a new post as assistant of Principal Conductor of the Rundfunkchor Berlin (2016-2020), while he still holds the position as chorus master at the Dorset Festival Opera. He beccame Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Choir (Groot Omroepkoor) in September 2020. From August 2028 he will also be Chief Conductor of the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart.
Benjamin Goodson conducts a broad choral repertoire, from a cappella and oratorio to newly commissioned works. He is particularly noted for his interpretations of contemporary choral scores. He has appeared at major venues in Europe, the USA, China, Japan, and Australia. With the Netherlands Radio Choir he directs the ensemble’s regular series at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. He regularly appears as a guest conductor with other leading ensembles, including the BBC Singers, Rundfunkchor Berlin, Swedish Radio Choir, ChorWerk Ruhr, Chamber Choir Ireland, Flemish Radio Choir, NDR Rundfunkchor Hamburg, MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig, SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart, Hungarian National Choir, and Collegium Vocale Gent. As a chorus master, he prepares choirs for the world’s leading orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker and the London Symphony Orchestra.
Highlights of the 2025-2026 season include a return to Asia to conduct the Taipei Chamber Singers at the Taipei National Concert Hall, Christmas concerts with the Flemish Radio Choir ChorWerk Ruhr. In Stuttgart, he leads two major projects with the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart: a curated Luciano Berio programme (“Knoblauch & Rattengift”) and a concert tour featuring works by Benjamin Britten and Weill alongside a new commission by Mike Svoboda.
Benjamin Goodson maintains a close artistic relationship with Sir James MacMillan. At the Concertgebouw he conducts MacMillan’s Seven Last Words from the Cross alongside Igor Stravinsky’s Mass for Choir and Winds, and with Rundfunkchor Berlin presents Hoffnung, a virtuosic programme including works by MacMillan, Xenakis and Schnittke.
Known for his razor-sharp ear and passion for choral sound, Benjamin Goodson is regularly invited to conduct the central 20th-century a cappella repertoire. His is a committed advocate of new music and has developed close artistic relationships with leading composers, including Sir James MacMillan, Jörg Widmann, Jonathan Dove, Roxanna Panufnik and Peter-Jan Wagemans. He is particularly noted for his work on the most technically demanding choral scores.
Benjamin Goodson records for Pentatone. His 2023 album featuring motets by Felix Mendelssohn and Josef Rheinberger was released to critical acclaim, described as “unmissable” by Stretto and “an extraordinary choral disc” by Scherzo. The recording received five stars from BBC Music Magazine and was nominated for the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik. A follow-up disc devoted to Frank Martin, Daniel-Lesur and Messiaen will be released in autumn 2025.
Benjamin Goodson is committed to developing new ways of experiencing choral music. He has staged J.S. Bach's Matthäus-Passion BWV 244 with Tom Guthrie, performed in the Rundfunkchor Berlin’s Human Requiem, and collaborated on Robert Wilson’s ground-breaking staging staging of the J.S. Bach Motets. For the Netherlands Radio Choir, he created he created the multi-disciplinary format The Living Room, the first edition of which (2021) staged and ritualised the choral works of I. Stravinsky to critical acclaim.
Benjamin Goodson now lives in Berlin. Alongside his international performing and recording career, he teaches the Master’s course in Choral Conducting at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and coaches a small number of professional conductors privately. |
