Ben Novotny
Flutist, Arranger, Composer, Artist.
About:
Benjamin “Ben” Novotny is a Chicago-based flutist, piccoloist, arranger, researcher, and arts leader. He currently performs with Nu Deco Ensemble, a professional 21st-century chamber orchestra based in Miami, and has also performed with Symphony of the Americas, Ensemble Ibis, Frost Wind Ensemble, Frost Symphony Orchestra, Frost Opera Theater, and the Northern Lights Music Festival, where he appeared as Second Flute/Piccolo. He is also active as a woodwind doubler in musical theater. In 2026, he was awarded Third Prize in the Florida Flute Association College Young Artist Competition, performing Charles Griffes’s Poem. He received Honorable Mention in the 2025 Frost School of Music Concerto Competition, was a 2025 fellow at the Mostly Modern Festival, and toured Germany and Austria with the Frost Wind Ensemble in 2024.
Ben earned his Bachelor of Music in Instrumental Performance with a minor in Music Industry from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, graduating summa cum laude. He was named a Theodore Presser Scholar, the Outstanding Student of the Frost School of Music Class of 2026, and the Outstanding Student in the Department of Instrumental Performance. He is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Flute Performance at DePaul University, where he studies with Aaron Goldman.
As an arranger, Ben has written extensively for flute ensemble. His arrangement of Lili Boulanger’s D’un matin de printemps was premiered in 2024 and is published by ALRY Publications. At the 2026 National Flute Association Convention in Portland, Oregon, his arrangements of Boulanger’s D’un soir triste and Florence Price’s Adoration received their world premieres.
Ben's academic work centers on contemporary music, interdisciplinary performance, and the relationship between music and narrative. In 2026, he presented his lecture recital, Duality of the Voice: The Role of Prose in Contemporary Flute Repertoire, at the University of Miami Research, Creativity, and Innovation Forum. His research paper, “A Dream You Don’t Recall”: Sound, Reality, and Spatial Distortion in Christopher Cerrone’s Liminal Highway, is forthcoming in the UCLA MUSE Undergraduate Journal. His research interests complement his performance work, particularly his interest in contemporary repertoire and the ways performers can engage with music beyond traditional modes of interpretation.
Ben is the founder, Artistic Director, and flutist of no comfort in the waiting room, a Pittsburgh-based new music ensemble he leads alongside clarinetist and Co-Artistic Director Haley Harrison and Executive Director Veronica Brocato. In its inaugural season, NCWR brought together nine emerging professional musicians from across the country to present six programs throughout Pittsburgh, ranging from pay-what-you-can community performances and educational outreach to mainstage concerts at Little Giant Studios. The ensemble's programming features contemporary works by composers including George Lewis, Alyssa Mena, and Mark Mellits, with an emphasis on BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other historically underrepresented composers. Through performance, programming, and community engagement, NCWR works to reduce barriers to contemporary classical music and affirm the importance of art as a necessity rather than a luxury.
Ben's work bridges performance, contemporary music, research, and arts leadership, with a particular interest in creating thoughtful, collaborative, and accessible musical experiences. His principal teachers and mentors include Jennifer Grim, Rhian Kenny, Jennifer Steele, Megan Ensor, Lindsey Goodman, and Claire Gunsbury.