Benjamin Lulich was appointed Principal Clarinet of the Pacific Symphony in May of 2007. Benjamin attended high school at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, where he was a student of Richard Hawkins and won the concerto competition and both the Fine Arts and Young Artist awards. He then received his B.M. from the Cleveland Institute of Music as a student of Frank Cohen and continued his studies at Yale University with David Shifrin. While in Cleveland, Benjamin was an active freelancer, and performed with The Cleveland Orchestra on several occasions, including two tours. He has also performed with the New World Symphony, and has spent summers at Marrowstone Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, Music Academy of the West, Pacific Music Festival in Japan, and the Colorado Music Festival. Benjamin has also won concerto competitions at Music Academy of the West, Cleveland Institute of Music, Marrowstone Music Festival and was a Theodore Presser Scholar. Additional clarinet teachers include Laura DeLuca, Alain Desgagne and Fred Ormand. A native of Oregon, Benjamin started playing the clarinet at age 11, taking lessons with Ted Burton in his hometown of Bend. .