Benjamin Hartnell-Booth
After beginning his musical journey as a cornet player in Greater Manchester, Benjamin Hartnell-Booth is currently a freelance horn player based in London.
Benjamin studied horn playing at the Royal Academy of Music with the generous support of the Countess of Munster Trust and Pendle Young Musician and graduated in 2022.
As well as graduating with distinction, Benjamin was awarded an additional diploma for an ‘Outstanding Final Recital’ in which he performed works by Poulenc, Messiaen and Britten.
Since then, Benjamin has focused primarily on orchestral playing, performing as Guest Principal with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia, the BBC Philharmonic, Opera North, Scottish Opera, the Royal National Scottish Orchestra and the Aurora Orchestra among others.
He has in particular enjoyed his operatic work, performing Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman and Tristan und Isolde at Grange Park Opera, Puccini’s La Boheme with the Glyndebourne Touring Orchestra, Janacek’s Cunning Little Vixen with Opera North, Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte with Welsh National Opera and Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretal and Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro at the Chateau de Panloy.
Benjamin has also performed a great deal of chamber music over the years; he recently performed Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings in London with Westminster Opera Company, performed pieces such as Beethoven’s Septet and Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel – Einmal Anders at the Peasmarsh Festival 2025, and was a featured artist at the Corbridge Music Festival 2025 in which he performed the Brahms Horn Trio, Strauss’ Andante for Horn and Piano, Gavin Higgins’ Fanfare, Air and Flourishes, and Jorg Widmann’s Air for Solo Horn.