As a concerto soloist his partners at the podium have included leading conductors such as Leif Segerstam, François Xavier-Roth, Ilan Volkov, Riccardo Minasi, Ludovic Morlot, Alexander Liebreich, Martyn Brabbins, Thomas Dausgaard, Antoni Wit, Thierry Fischer, Jiří Bělohlávek, and Ed Gardner with major symphony and chamber orchestras and contemporary music ensembles. He also varies his solo engagements with meaningful chamber music partnerships alongside artists such as Antje Weithaas (violin), Maximilian Hornung (cello), Stefan Jackiw (violin), Nicholas Daniel (oboe), Michala Petri (recorder), Adam Walker (flute), Hille Perl (viola da gamba), and Florence Malgoire (baroque violin).

Esfahani’s work with new and modern music is particularly acclaimed, with high-profile solo and concertante commissions from George Lewis, Bent Sørensen, Poul Ruders, Anahita Abbasi, Laurence Osborne, Gary Carpenter, Miroslav Srnka, Elena Kats-Chernin, Daniel Kidane, Michael Berkeley, and other contemporary voices in forming the backbone of his repertoire. His commitment to exploring the contemporary voice for the harpsichord is reflected in his 2020 Hyperion release ‘Musique?’ – a compilation of electronic and acoustic works including the modern revival of Luc Ferrari’s 1974 Programme commun for harpsichord and tape.

His richly-varied discography for Hyperion and Deutsch Grammophon – including an ongoing series of the complete works of Bach for the former – has been acclaimed in the English- and foreign-language press and has garnered one Gramophone award, two BBC Music Magazine Awards, a Diapason d’Or and ‘Choc de Classica’ in France, and an ICMA as well as numerous Editor’s Choices in a variety of publications including a spot in the Telegraph’s compilation of essential classical music and the New York Times List of Top Recordings.

He can be frequently heard as a commentator on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4 and as a host for such programs as Record Review, Building a Library, and Sunday Feature, as well as in live programmes with the popular mathematician and presenter Marcus du Sautoy; for the BBC’s Sunday Feature he is currently at work on his fourth radio documentary following popular programmes on such subjects as the early history of African-American composers in the classical sphere and the development of orchestral music in Azerbaijan.

Born in Tehran in 1984, Esfahani grew up in the United States and studied musicology and history at Stanford University and worked as a repetiteur and studied in Boston with Peter Watchorn before completing his studies in Prague with the celebrated Czech harpsichordist Zuzana Růžičková. Following several years spent in Milan, Oxford, and London, he now makes his home in Prague.

Benjamin is also a founding member of MITT3N Percussion, which has presented masterclasses and performed at various venues along the East Coast, as well as Michigan and Texas. An advocate for contemporary music, he has helped commission numerous pieces from composers such as Juri Seo, Justin Rito, James Wood, Ivan Trevino, and Alejandro Vinao. Benjamin is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Musical Arts from Michigan State University and holds a Masters degree and Graduate Performance Diploma from The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, as well as a Bachelors of Music from Michigan State University.

She has given masterclasses in University of Illinois, Arizona State University, University of Michigan, Northwestern University, among a few. She has served as an adjudicator in several competitions such as Camac Prize Taiwan and AHS National Competition. As an enthusiastic teacher, Huang founded Capitol Harp Ensemble in2022, a non-profit organization that provides after-school programs for youths as well as adult enrichment classes. Her pedagogical compositions are published by HappyString Music. Her first album with Formosa Trio- The First Impression (“invites us not just for a ride, but on an adventure, requiring all senses”- Harp Column), which also includes several of her arrangements.

Drawing on the members’ wide-ranging careers as performers, composers, educators, and scholars, ConTempus’ principal activities include: commissioning new works, discovering unpublished or underrepresented works, collaborating with other forms of art, and presenting educational workshops and community outreach concerts. Performances have included collaborations with the Detroit Institute of Arts, Artlab J Dance Company, Michigan State University, Spring Arbor University, Albion College, Flint Institute of Music, City of East Lansing, Lansing Symphony Orchestra, Jackson Symphony Orchestra, and many more.

• ConTempus Quartet
• Ji Hyun Kim, violin
• Sarah Patterson, violin
• Christine Beamer, viola
• Jinhyun Kim, cello