Born and raised in Berlin, San Francisco, and Texas, Ben Shirley is an accomplished concert composer, film composer, orchestrator for film & television, and musician. His clarinet quintet, “High Sierra Sonata” is featured on the 2024 GRAMMY® AWARD nominated American Stories album, recorded by Pacifica Quarter & New York Philharmonic Principal Clarinetist Anthony McGill. American Stories was released on Cedille Records in 2023. 

A bassist for 25+ years, Ben’s band was previously signed to Epic Records with radio singles charting in the top 5 of American Rock Charts. Addiction drove him into homelessness in 2011.

While living at the Midnight Mission, a shelter in Los Angeles’ notorious Skid Row for 26 months, Ben returned to school, earned a scholarship to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and began a new life as a concert and film composer.

Ben’s story of homelessness, international marathoning, and return to music was told in detail in Mark and Gabi Hayes’ internationally acclaimed and multi-award winning documentary “Skid Row Marathon.” 

Ben’s works have been commissioned, performed, and recorded by prominent ensembles, including Pacifica Quartet, Quadre-The Voice of Four Horns, Denver Friends of Chamber Music, Interlochen, Detroit Chamber Music, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music (Utah State University), The Newark-Granville Symphony, and Worthington Chamber Orchestra as their 2025-2026 & 2026-2027 Composer-In-Residence.

Ben is an alumnus of the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music (GLFCAM), the Tidriks Distance Learning Program (20/21), the GLFCAM two-year “Composing Earth'' program, dedicated to the study of climate change (2022-2023), and is currently a Composer Fellow in Cycle 20 Remote BER Fellowship

In 2023, Ben launched the Common Frequency music program at St. Vincent Haven, a men’s transitional and emergency shelter in Newark, Ohio. 

Ben is a Board Member of the Newark-Granville Symphony, and an active member of the Newark-Granville Rotary Club, and Aerospace Masonic Lodge No. 800 in Heath, OH. He remains actively involved in homelessness outreach and engagement.

 Film & Television Credits

Ben is a television and film composer and orchestrator. Credits include:

• Composer, “Dr. West’s Fervor” (Multi-award winning short film with a 2023 Best Director, Idlewild Film Festival)

• Orchestration, “Umbrella” (2021 Oscar® Qualified and multi-award winning animated short film )

• Orchestration, “S.W.A.T.” on CBS Television

• Orchestration, “Fast & Furious: Hobbs and Shaw”

• Composer, “The Guardian”

• Composer, “The Stories Project”

• Additional Music Textures, “Skid Row Marathon”  (2017 Best Picture, Los Angeles Film Festival)

Skid Row Marathon

Ben was one of four featured runners in Mark and Gabi Hayes’ internationally acclaimed documentary “Skid Row Marathon.” The film won dozens of awards including the LA Film Festival’s “Best Documentary,” the Boulder International Film Festival’s “People’s Choice” award, the Santa Barbara Film Festival’s “Audience Choice” award, and the Napa Valley Film Festival’s “Best Documentary Feature.”

Speaking & Guest Lecturing

Ben is a frequent speaker and guest lecturer, who shares his story of recovery from addiction and homelessness, and the role that music, running, and faith played in it.

• Guest Lecturer, Denison University

• Guest Speaker, UCLA

• Guest Speaker, University of Southern California

• Guest Speaker, Colburn School of Music - Pathways to Citizen Artistry

• Speaker, Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles 

• Speaker, Newark-Granville Rotary

• Speaker, Newark Kiwanis Club

• Guest Speaker, The Joseph Group Capital Management, Spring Wealth Summit

• Guest Speak, The Monday Talks Club

Ben’s Story Has Been Shared By:

• NPR Weekend Edition Saturday with Scott Simon

• WOSU-Classical 101

• The Columbus Dispatch

• Newark Advocate

• BBC World Service

• KCRW

• Los Angeles Times

• The Wrap

Marathons

• Los Angeles Marathon (4x)

• Accra Marathon (Ghana)

• Da Nang Marathon (Vietnam)

• Rome Marathon (Italy)

• Jerusalem Marathon (Israel)

• Berlin Marathon (Berlin, Germany)