Ben Pease Barton (b. 2000) is a British composer based in London, writing primarily for live instrumental and vocal performance. His work often draws on ecological and archaeological ideas, with a particular focus on the complex human forces that perpetually shape, sustain and degrade ancient natural landscapes. This is influenced by his early upbringing in Hatfield Forest, Essex as the son of a forest ranger.

Ben has written for ensembles including EXAUDI Vocal Ensemble, the Gildas and Ligeti Quartets, PlusMinus Ensemble, line upon line percussion, the Guildhall Session and Symphony Orchestras, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. He has written for soloists including clarinettists Heather Roche and Jonathan Willett, pianists Ben Smith and William Bracken, singers Faryl Smith and Manon Ogwen Parry, and violinist Kryštof Kohout. Conductors he has worked with include Jack Sheen, Sir Antonio Pappano, William Cole, James Weeks and Alphonse Cemin.

Ben studied with Julian Anderson, Cassandra Miller and Malcolm Singer at Guildhall School of Music & Drama as an undergraduate (first-class honours). He then continued studies with Anderson at the School, completing his master’s with distinction in 2024. At Guildhall, he received the Tracey Chadwell Memorial Prize (2023) for vocal composition, the inaugural Jane Manning – Anthony Payne Award (2024) – the School’s top composition prize – and, upon graduation, the Marjorie & Dorothy Whyte Memorial Award (2024) for nominated graduates of the London conservatoires. He was also supported by a Guildhall School Scholarship, Vaughan Williams Bursary and Henry Wood Trust Scholarship. Before starting at Guildhall, he studied with David Stowell and Simon Limbrick as a Guildhall Young Artists Leverhulme Arts Scholar. He has participated in courses and masterclasses in the UK and abroad with composers including Michael Jarrell, Tom Coult, Charlotte Bray, Helmut Lachenmann and Ramon Lazkano.

Recently, Ben was the first ever student composer commissioned for the biennial Guildhall Artists in New York; Fall – a collaboration with writer Olivia Bell – was premiered by soprano Manon Ogwen Parry, violinist Kryštof Kohout and pianist William Bracken at Carnegie Hall and London’s Milton Court in 2024. In collaboration with writer David Bottomley, he is currently writing a commission for mezzo-soprano Karima El Demerdasch and the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jonathan Stockhammer, to be premiered at the Barbican in May 2025.

Ben is the Composition Tutor at Guildhall Young Artists Norwich.