Faculty Spotlight
Benjamin Boone
Educator, Scholar, Composer and Saxophonist
Benjamin Boone, originally from Statesville, N.C.,
is a Professor at California State University Fresno where he has
taught in the areas of music theory and composition since 2000.
Having received the “Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching” at the University of Tennessee, Benjamin Boone began teaching music theory and composition at Fresno State in the fall of 2000. Since that time, his compositions have appeared on twenty CDs and have been featured in film, on National Public Radio’s ‘Weekend Edition,” Bavarian Radio, French television and in concerts in twenty-five countries including China, Japan, Australia, Africa and throughout Eastern and Western Europe. A Fulbright Senior Specialist Fellow to the Republic of Moldova, Boone has won eighteen international and national awards for his work. His research on the pitch of speech has been discussed in “Grove’s,” a leading academic encyclopedia and presented at several conferences.
In addition to receiving one of Fresno State’s highest honors, the “President’s Award,” Boone has received the “Provost Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity,” the “University Faculty Spirit of Service Award” for his design of a service-learning partnership with a juvenile court facility in Fresno, and the “Best in Show Award” for his commitment to academic excellence.
“One of the things I love most about here at Fresno State is its diversity and commitment to providing a low-cost quality education to students in the Central Valley,” says Boone.
“My colleagues are committed teachers as well as leaders in their fields – there is a synergy in the department that is unique and special – something that compels me to try and do my best every day.”
In November, Boone performed on saxophone at Bayerisher Rundfunk Studio Franken (one of the most prestigious studios in the world) for German National Radio. His debut jazz CD, “The Benjamin Boone Quartet: LIVE!” was listed in the top 100 on the national jazz charts for three weeks this past summer. In the summer of 2012 he is slated to be the guest of honor at a conference in Bordeaux, France dedicated exclusively to his compositions for saxophone. A similar conference is currently being planned in Buenos Aires.
In addition to his duties as a member of the music faculty, Boone serves as the Faculty Service-Learning Mentor for the Richter Center for Civic Engagement and Service Learning. “Fresno State is a national leader in the area of civic engagement and service learning. It is one of the most effective ways for students to learn – to apply what goes on in the classroom in hands-on real-life situations. Helping faculty design quality service-learning experiences for our students has reinvigorated and energized my own teaching.”
Boone says, “Fresno State is filled with such vibrant and active people --- especially my colleagues in the Music Department and in the College of Arts and Humanities – I am just honored to be in their ranks.”
