Bennie van Eeden obtained the Teacher’s Diploma, BMus and HonsBMus degrees cum laude from Stellenbosch University, having passed all his UNISA piano examinations with distinction. As a student he received numerous prizes and awards, most notably the FAK Music Bursary (twice), the Conservatoire Stipendium and a Merit Award for the best overall fourth year student at the university. He also obtained the LTCL and UPLM diplomas. He taught at the Wellington Teachers’ Training College for ten years, and since 1988 has been appointed as lecturer in Piano and Piano Literature at Stellenbosch, filling the post of his erstwhile teacher, Betsie Cluver.
Bennie also studied with some of South Africa’s foremost pianists and teachers, viz. Lamar Crowson and Laura Searle (UCT) and John Antoniadis (US), under whose guidance he completed the practical component of the MMus in Piano Performance. He participated in international piano competitions in Bolzano and Pretoria. He has also acted regularly as Faculty member at several International Piano Symposia and the International Chamber Music Festivals in Stellenbosch.
A versatile musician, performer and experienced teacher, Bennie is also known for his solo en chamber music performances, especially as member of the highly regarded Collage and Taffanel ensembles, to whom trio’s by South African composers Hendrik Hofmeyr and Alexander Johnson have been dedicated. He has also accompanied some of South Africa’s foremost singers, including Marita Napier, Nellie du Toit, Aviva Pelham, Sabina Mossolow and André Howard, and international singers such as the Dutch soprano, Julia Bronkhorst.
He has been featured on the SABC and regularly performs at major art festivals around South Africa. He is a founder member of the Hennie Joubert National Piano Competition and has since been involved in adjudicating and organizing this prestigious event.