Benjamin Johnston-Urey

Benjamin Johnston-Urey's orchestral score Beringia was played in Brasília on 1 August 2023 by the Orquestra Sinfônica do Teatro Nacional Cláudio Santoro, at the Tonal Composers Festival. A Canadian composer, songwriter and arranger, he writes orchestral and choral music, solo vocal and instrumental pieces, scores for film and video games, and liturgical music for worship. Nayden Todorov conducted the Brasília performance. He is based in the Yukon and works as a performer and producer as well as a writer of scores. Beyond the Brasília premiere, his orchestral and wind music has been taken up by the Calgary Wind Symphony and the Civic Orchestra of Victoria, and he appears with ensembles across Canada and the United States. In 2025 the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada gave him its National Leadership Award for his work at the meeting point of music, worship and community life.