Biography
Benedict Collins Rice is a conductor, composer and festival director whose work spans professional chamber music, large-scale choral performance and music education across the UK. He is recognised for imaginative programming and high-quality energetic musicianship.
In 2026 he was appointed Director of the Bury Music Festival, leading its relaunch with a celebration of the music of Sir William Walton. Alongside this role, Benedict is Musical Director of Bath Bach Choir, Bury Bach Choir, Ipswich Chamber Choir, Eye Bach Choir and Mid-Norfolk Singers. He also conducts at Morley College, following in the footsteps of Gustav Holst and Sir Michael Tippett.
Benedict is the founder and Artistic Director of The Facade Ensemble, one of the UK's leading chamber ensembles specialising in the repertoire of musical modernism. Described as "razor-sharp" by The Arts Desk and "first-rate" by MusicOMH, the ensemble is Ensemble-in-Residence at The Courtauld Institute and has built a reputation for adventurous programming and critically acclaimed performances.
Recent and forthcoming projects include Walton's Belshazzar's Feast, Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610, Bach's Mass in B minor, Dvořák's Stabat Mater, Handel's Solomon and Britten's St Nicholas. Benedict has worked with leading ensembles and distinguished soloists including Sir Willard White, Roderick Williams, and the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Alongside his conducting, Benedict is an active composer. His works have been performed by ensembles across the UK the US and Europe, and his setting of My Spirit Sang All Day was a recent prize winner in the Bath Camerata Composition Competition. The work will appear on Bath Camerata's forthcoming album, featuring the première recording of a new choral cycle by Jonathan Dove.
Originally from Oxfordshire, Benedict held two conducting scholarships while reading Music at the University of Cambridge. He subsequently studied with the Heads of Conducting at the Royal College of Music, the Royal Northern College of Music and the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, before completing a Master's degree in Choral Conducting at the University of Birmingham under Simon Halsey, graduating with the highest conducting mark ever awarded on the course.
Current Status
Director: Bury Music Festival
Conductor and Artistic Director: The Facade Ensemble
Choral Conducting & Choir Tutor / Lecturer: Morley College
Musical Director: Eye Bach Choir
Musical Director: Bath Bach Choir
Conductor: Ipswich Chamber Choir
Musical Director: Bury Bach Choir
Music Director: Mid Norfolk Singers
Short Biography
Benedict Collins Rice is a conductor, composer and festival director recognised for imaginative programming and inspiring musicianship. In 2026 he was appointed Director of the Bury Music Festival, leading its relaunch with a celebration of the music of Sir William Walton.
He is Musical Director of Bath Bach Choir, Bury Bach Choir, Ipswich Chamber Choir, Eye Bach Choir and Mid-Norfolk Singers, and also conducts at Morley College, following in the footsteps of Gustav Holst and Sir Michael Tippett.
Benedict is the founder and Artistic Director of The Facade Ensemble, Ensemble-in-Residence at The Courtauld Institute, whose performances have been praised as "razor-sharp" (The Arts Desk) and "first-rate" (MusicOMH). Recent projects include Walton's Belshazzar's Feast, Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 and Bach's Mass in B minor.
As a composer, his music has been performed around the world, and his My Spirit Sang All Day will appear on Bath Camerata's forthcoming album featuring the première recording of a new Jonathan Dove cycle.
