Violinist Maria Benotti teaches violin and Sonata Duo class at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, as well as violin in the NEC School of Continuing Education. She joined the faculty in 1977. She has taught a course in Violin Pedagogy for the NEC School of Continuing Education.
As the founder and Artistic Director of Music at Eden’s Edge, she directed programming and operations for the regional resident professional chamber ensemble serving Boston’s North Shore from 1982 to 2020. Audiences were served with a rich array of chamber music concerts and lecture/performances ranging through Period Baroque, Classical and Romantic, 20th Century, contemporary and commissioned works. Ms. Benotti has served frequently as a competition judge for the New England Conservatory of Music, NEC’s Guitarfest, Tufts University, the former Longy School of Music, and as an ASTACAP evaluator. She has presented teacher several forums for Boston’s ASTA chapter on string pedagogy.
Ms. Benotti performed for 13 years with the Handel and Haydn Society Orchestra, was a founding member of the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston and performed with the orchestra for many years, and has played for other distinguished Boston ensembles like Boston Cecilia. Ms. Benotti also performed frequently as concertmaster and chamber performer for the St. John’s Concert Series, has played numerous recitals and chamber music concerts throughout New England, including concerts on the Enchanted Circle Series, a solo NEC Prep faculty recital in Jordan Hall and numerous faculty recitals at New England Conservatory, and chamber music concerts at the Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival, the University of New Hampshire, the Monadnock Festival and the Music at Noon Series at Northeastern University.
Ms. Benotti has held teaching positions at Northeastern University, Gordon College, Wheaton College and Rivers Conservatory. Violin studies were with Dorothy DeLay, Eric Rosenblith, Masuko Ushioda and Valeria Kuchment. She coached in chamber music studies with Josef Gingold, Eric Rosenblith, Rudolph Kolisch, Eugene Lehner and David Wells, and in Vienna with Michael Schnitzler (Schnitzler Trio) while studying violin with Günter Pichler (Alban Berg Quartet) as a Special Student at the Hochschule für Musik. She has participated in the Aston Magna Bach Workshops with Daniel Stepner.
She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA in Music from Oberlin College and holds Master of Music degrees in Violin Performance from both the Catholic University of America and the New England Conservatory of Music.
Photo by Paul Cary Goldberg