Benjamin Flanagan

Description

*Double bass & electric bass: experienced sideman and ensemble player, comfortable in any genre (pop styles, classical, jazz, theatre, latin, folk/traditional). Excellent sight-reader in all forms. Travels with Samick Delta (4-string, Seymour Duncan pickups) and BOSS GT-1B; travels locally with carved-top Shen upright and 150W Ampeg, but willing to make arrangements.
*Keyboards & piano: experienced sideman, ensemble player, and church accompanist; also competent cocktail soloist, jazz trio/combo leader, and organist/choral director. Competent sight-reader, excellent with a lead sheet. Comf ... ortable with MainStage, ForScore, and RMS. Travels with Casio PS-x3000 (hammer-action), 49-key MIDI controller, US Apex stand, and MacBook Pro.
*Bandleader: Happy to direct pop/rock bands, jazz combos & big bands, and any other ensemble to best reach their goals. Organized and flexible management style; determined and motivating rehearsal leader. Reads transposing scores and has both classroom and lessons teaching experience.
.
*Arranger & copyeditor: clear and creative solutions for ensembles of any size or makeup. Advanced Musescore and Finale user.
*Doubling instrumentalist: comfortable ensemble player on tenor steel pan (calypso, soca, pop etc.), accordion (latin, traditional, jazz etc.), drums (jazz, pop etc.), and mandolin (classical, traditional). Comfortable sight-reader on steel pan and mandolin; competent chart-reader all-around. Read More

Reviews     (no reviews)

Experience

*Indie bands: founded Midnight Breakfast (soul-pop) in 2019, also directs Gnocchi (rock), playing bass and keys in both.
*Musical theater pits: West Side Story, Into The Woods, Annie, Dear Edwina, Hello Dolly (bass); Mamma Mia (keys 2, 3, & 4)
*Solo piano: 2 years of cocktail piano at formal institutional events; 3 years of piano & organ at churches averaging between 90 and 500 congregants/service; 2 summers of coastal weddings and funerals;
*Symphony Orchestra: Tchaikovsky 5, Beethoven 6, Schubert 5 & 7, Borodin 2, Franck, Dvorak 9, Capriccio Espagnol ( all 1st chair, collegiate); The P ... lanets, Mendelssohn violin concerto, Dvorak 8, Beach "Gaelic", (Midcoast Symphony)
*Chamber groups: Handel's Messiah (all), Dvorak string quintet, Boismortier quintet, Shostakovich quartet no. 8
*Various other serious collegiate & community ensembles: steel bands (tenor pan, gigging), jazz/big bands (bass), symphonic bands/wind ensembles (1st chair bass), Wolof & Ghanaian drummers (djembe & dun-dun), baroque consorts, chamber choirs (baritone), and dozens of jazz combos (bass & accordion, 3 to 8 piece), Read More

Previous Clients

•David Merrit Janes
•Collins Center for the Arts
•Waterville Opera House
•The University of Maine Foundation
•Penobscot Theater Company
•The Senator George Mitchell Institute
•Bangor Pride
•Orono Brewing Company
•All Saints Parish, Midcoast Maine
•Parish of the Resurrection, Old Town, Maine
•The University of Maine
•University of Maine Student Government
•Town of Orono
•Orono High School
•Town of Bridgton
•Numerous breweries and restraunts
•Alan Wittenberg (copyediting)
•Colegio La Alegria del Señor, Lima, Peru

Suitable for

Charity / Fundraising Event Christening Christmas Party Club Party Cocktail Party / Drinks Reception Corporate Event Cruise Ships Dinner Party Funeral/Memorial Service Hotel Event Nursing / Care Home Event Private Party Product Launch / Promotion Restaurant / Bar / Pub Event School Event Session Work Social Club Theaters / Stage University / College Event Wedding Ceremony Wedding Cocktail/Drinks Reception

Meet the Act

I was born in Naples, Italy, before growing up in northern New England. I started as a church bassist in high school even though I had taken piano lessons for years, and while I didn't expect to do more music than some drumming in college, I was hooked the moment I got unexpectedly hired for my first upright bass job in a traveling jazz combo. I love new foods, practicing my Spanish and Portuguese, and all things outdoors. I have 7 siblings but am the first musician in my extended family!

Virtual Services Offer

Music Arranger, Copyeditor, & Composer

Quick, clear, and creative solutions for ensembles of any size or makeup!
Advanced Musescore and Finale user.