Praised by The New York Times as, “clarion-voiced and vibrant”, Benjamin Butterfield is known for his performances throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. He has performed with many of the world’s leading conductors including Sir Andrew Davis, James Conlon, Nicholas McGegan, Charles Dutoit, Leonard Slatkin, Bramwell Tovey, Seiji Ozawa, Bernard Labadie, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Jeffrey Thomas, Trevor Pinnock, Bruno Weil and Marc Minkowski.

Butterfield’s ²⁰¹⁶⁄₁₇ season features a dynamic range of repertoire showcasing his versatility with both contemporary and classic works. In North America, he performs with major orchestras including the Calgary Philharmonic and Utah Symphony (Mozart’s Requiem), Kansas City Symphony and Newfoundland Symphony (Handel’s Messiah), and the Victoria Symphony for a special New Year’s celebration concert. Overseas, Butterfield will perform Yevhen Stankovych’s ‘Kaddysh’ Requiem with the Hamburg Philharmonic at the Kiev Opera House memorializing the 75th anniversary of Babyn Yar. Other performances include recitals at Vancouver Muzewest, Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre, Elora Festival, and Haydn’s Creation with Capriccio Vocal Ensemble.

Recent performances include Carnegie Hall with Orchestra of St. Luke’s (Haydn’s Creation), Lincoln Center with American Classical Orchestra, Haydn Masses with San Diego Symphony and Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, and Britten’s Serenade and War Requiem with L’ Orchestre Lyrique de Montreal and Victoria Symphony. Butterfield has also appeared at Pacific Baroque Festival under conductor Marc Destrubé, Luminous Voices (Mozart’s Requiem), Elgin Symphony (Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony), and the Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival in Vermont (Schubert’s Auf dem Strom and Janacek’s The Diary of one who Disappeared). He makes frequent appearances with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem including their annual 2-week Bach Festival.

Most recently as an interpreter of opera, he portrayed the role of Mime in Das Rheingold with Pacific Opera and was stage director for Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi at the Amalfi Coast Music Festival. Other operatic roles include Grimoaldo in Handel’s Rodelinda and Jupiter in Semele with Pacific Opera Victoria, Frère Massée in Messiaen’s St. François d’Assise with Kent Nagano and the Montreal Symphony, Tamino in The Magic Flute with the Toronto Symphony and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with Calgary Opera.

A prolific recording artist, he has recorded for Analekta, Dorian, CBC Records, Koch International and Timpani (France). He has also been featured in Messiah on ZDF at the Handel-Festspiele Halle with Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert and on CBC Radio as a guest host for “This is my Music”. Recently Mr. Butterfield recorded the St. John Passion with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem (Analekta), the Rhien transcription of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde for Yellow Barn and a sixth CD of Ukrainian Art Song for the Ukrainian Art Song Project in Toronto.

Associate Professor, head of voice and co-head of performance for the School of Music at the University of Victoria, Butterfield is the 2015 recipient of the UVic. Craigdarroch Award for Excellence in Artistic Expression. He has also served as guest faculty for Opera Nuova, the Amalfi Coast Music Festival in Italy, The Victoria Conservatory Summer Vocal Academy, Vancouver International Song Institute, Yellow Barn, and Opera on the Avalon.