About Us

Ben Arendsen is an active conductor of choral and orchestral music throughout the New York and Long Island area. Ben is thrilled to be returning to the Forest Hills Choir, where he previously served as interim Director beginning in 2017.

Outside of his work with FHC, Ben is also the Director of Choral Activities at Nassau Community College, where he additionally teaches music history, ear training, and guitar courses. Ben is also Music Director of the Great Neck Choral Society, a post he has held since 2019.

Past appointments include conductor and singer with C4: The Choral Composer Conductor Collective, Associate Conductor of the Oratorio Society of Queens, Music Director with the Metropolitan Youth Orchestras (Nassau Symphony Orchestra), interim Music Director of the Sound Symphony, and Music Director of the Gilbert and Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island.

When not conducting, Ben also sings with eVoco Voice Collective, a Long Island based choir dedicated to choral excellence. Ben holds a Masters Degree in Orchestral Conducting from Queens College’s Aaron Copland School of Music, where he studied with Maurice Peress. As a guitarist, Ben has performed throughout New York and New England, including the Carnegie Hall Premiere of Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint with William Anderson in 2006.