Described as having a “profound tone and artistic finesse within his playing, representing our art and instrument in an absolutely profound way" (Turm Saiten - Masters of Classical Guitar, Dortmund 2026), Canadian guitarist Ben Diamond is a well rounded musician whose passion knows no limits. He is active as a performer, educator, and choral conductor pursuing a wide variety of projects that contribute to the evolution of the 21st century guitar. Ben’s concert career spans from solo recitals, to chamber music, to recently making his symphonic debut with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra Sinfonia with performances held across Canada, the United States, Germany, and France.
A recent graduate from the M. Mus in performance program at Schulich School of Music (McGill University), Ben’s primary focus is the collaboration with composers to create new works for the guitar. It is his success in premiering contemporary music and love for community building that has earned him many accolades such as the CBC 30 under 30 hot classical musicians in 2021, 2026 Solo Artist of the Year with MusicNL, the 2021 ArtsNL Emerging Artist of the year award, and a nomination for the 2025 East Coast Music Award for Electronic Release of the Year.
Ben has also placed in competitions such as the 2019 FCMF National Music Festival (SK), 2022 Twisted Spruce International Competition (Virtual), 2023 Domaine Forget International Guitar Competition (QC), Festival-concours de musique Sherbrooke (2024), Classival - concours de musique classique (QC, 2025) and first prize in the 2026 GuitarFest West competition in Calgary, Alberta.
An avid educator and choral conductor, Ben recently became certified in the Suzuki guitar method and joined the faculty at STEP: Suzuki Talent Education Program of Newfoundland and Labrador. Ben celebrates diverse genres of music in his guitar pedagogy, and has taught students of all ages and levels. As co-founder of the Atlantic Guitar Society, Ben has helped cultivate many first time classical guitar events in the history of Newfoundland’s music scene, including “Guitarnival! The first international classical guitar festival in Newfoundland”. In addition to guitar education and outreach,
Ben has recently assumed the role of choral conducting fellow with Newman Sound Men’s Chorus in St. John’s where he also sings with the Quintessential Vocal Ensemble. Aside from his active life in music, Ben is passionate about spending time with friends and family, fitness, and learning languages. He is an artist with Knobloch strings, and performs on guitars by Canadian Luthier Ross Chiasson.