ABOUT
“ Chamber music has been an ever existing part of my life since I was very young. My love of this kind of music originates from the wordless communication that music is; a sort of telepathy of the moment between the players ... you play together but never in quite the same way and the music is living only in that moment. It is a profound and existential beauty that leads you to search for and love the unexpected.” - Benedikte Damgaard
Benedikte Damgaard's passport has stamps from interesting corners of the world. Playing chamber music has a special place in her heart and it has taken her to festivals and concerts through Scandinavia, Germany, Italy, Austria, France, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belgium, China, Vietnam and Australia.
She has been invited to venues such as Melba Hall in Melbourne, Bergen Festival, Grand Concert Hall Hanoi, Antwerp Chamber Music, Nordens Hus Thorshavn, Holland Music Sessions, South Bohemian Chamber Music Festival, Societa Umanitaria Milan, Hindsgavl Festival, Klang Festival, Golden Days Copenhagen, Shanghai Academy Concert Hall, Tivoli Festival aso.
Being selected to be a part of the "Young Elite" program of the Danish Art Foundation, she has been encouraged to continue to expand her chamber music playing both in her homeland and outside of its boarders.
Here are a few facts about her musical life so far:
She graduated from her Post Graduate studies at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, in 2014 as a violin soloist and in 2015 as a chamber music player, after studying with Serguei Azizian, Gunnar Tagmose, Tim Frederiksen, Jens Elvekjær (Trio con Brio) and Gerhard Schulz (Alban Berg Quartet).
She won the Jacob Gade Violin Competition in 2004 and she recieved the Audience Prize of The Danish String Competition 2012. 15 years old she had her debut as a soloist with orchestra, together with Aalborg Symphony Orchestra.
In 2013 she won the Val Tidone International Chamber Music Competition with her ensemble Copenhagen Piano Quartet, in 2012 they won RDAM Chamber Music Competition. Copenhagen Piano Quartet is laureate of the Danish Radio’s Chamber Music Competition in 2014 and of the International Johannes Brahms Competition in Austria 2012 and in November 2013 they were awarded ‘Menzione Speciale’ in Concorso de Esecuzione Musicale - Terza Edizione in Italy as the best chamber music ensemble of the competition.
Copenhagen Piano Quartet released their debut CD from Dacapo Records in 2015, featuring piano quartets by Friedrich Kuhlau, and in 2019 the second CD was released with the third Kuhlau quartet and a quartet by Otto Malling.
In 2017 she released a duo CD with music by Karol Szymanowski and Richard Strauss played together with her duo-partner pianist Emil Gryesten and in 2022 they released a CD with all 3 Grieg sonatas.
In 2017 she released a CD of four Mozart sonatas played together with her father John Damgaard.
Benedikte have been awarded many grants, for instance the Van Hauen Grant, Jacob Gades Grant and two times Leonie Sonning Talent Prize together with CPQ and as a soloist.
Benedikte is a member of The Royal Danish Orchestra.