Ben Valine

Ben Valine is active as a performer, composer, educator, arranger, and session musician. He plays several instruments including banjo, guitar, viola, and mandolin. Ben currently teaches on the music faculties of Belmont University, Concordia University, and Judson University.

Hen completed dual master’s degrees in commercial guitar and classical viola from Belmont. As an instrumentalist, Ben has performed in Europe and across the United States. During a summer residency at the Monte Carlo Sporting Center, he played for the Prince of Monaco at the Red Cross Gala. While in Monaco he also opened for Sting, John Legend, and The Jacksons. In 2017 he played with Ricky Skaggs and Vince Gill for the opening ceremony of Belmont’s Gallery of Iconic Guitars.

In Minnesota, he has performed at the Dakota, The Chanhassen Dinner Theater, and the St. Paul Winter Carnival. Ben works regularly at Cinderella Sound Studios in Nashville as an instrumentalist and arranger, and is currently on staff as a musician at North Heights Church in Arden Hills. Valine studied guitar with John Pell, Michael Valeras, and Jeffrey Warren. He also studied with musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra including Associate Concertmaster Roger Frisch and Associate Principle viola Richard Marshall. His fiddle/commercial string teachers include Buddy Spicher, Tammy Rogers King, Billy Contreras, Ryan Joseph, and Tracy Silverman.