François Benda

François Benda was born in Brazil, but his musical roots are in Europe. He's a scion of a dynasty of Bohemian composers whose best-known member, Franz Benda, was court musician to Prussia's King Frederick II. François Benda's international career began in 1988, when he debuted as a clarinet soloist at the Tonhalle in Zurich.

Benda regularly collaborates with musicians such as Josef Suk, Bruno Giuranna, Josef Silverstein, Karl Engel, Bruno Canino and Paul Badura-Skoda. He's also a member of the Benda Musicians, the Weimar Soloists and the Variazoni Ensemble. He was awarded a prize at Premio Internazionale per le Arti dello Spettacolo Gino Tani in Rome in 1991.

François Benda teaches at the University of the Arts in Berlin and at the Academy of Music in Basel.