Benedict (Ben) Fernandez

INFO

Name	Ben Fernandez (he/him)
Also known as	Benedict Fernandez
Country of Birth	India
Place of Residence	Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
Ethnicities	Indian
Artform	Music
Decades Active	1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s

ABOUT

Ben Fernandez is a pianist, composer and arranger based in Tāmaki Makaurau. The music he creates varies greatly, depending on his collaborators and inspiration, ranging from Western classical, jazz improvisation, jazz and Indian classical fusion, contemporary original piano compositions, covers of Christmas songs, his favourite pop songs, and even an album of lullabies dedicated to his son.

Born in Byculla, Mumbai, into a family where music was a way of life, his father, Anthony, was a classical pianist, and his mother, Antoinette, a jazz drummer. His uncles were professional musicians. Bene (pianist, singer, and accordion player) and Benji (pianist and saxophonist), along with his aunt Mary (whom he called Chuchi), were equally as influential to his musical upbringing. Chuchi helped Fernandez’s family within their house, helping with homework, school drop-off, and supervising their music lessons. Fernandez began playing the piano at around the age of three. He started playing the organ at Gloria Church in Byculla when he was seven years old. Performing at the church was a foundational experience, where he learned the fundamentals of playing as a live musician. His family hosted regular parties and sing-alongs at their home, which would revolve around music; family and friends would come over with guitars, violins, accordions and other instruments, and he, his brother, and his father would play the two pianos they had in the house. Throughout his childhood, his father would take him to jazz, classical and orchestral shows throughout the city. He and his brother also learnt about musical performance from a local priest, Father Albert Borges, who would visit their family home regularly to play the violin while the boys played the piano.

Music remained central in Fernandez's life even as he progressed through his education and began working. At 15, he was Head Boy and School Captain of Antonio DeSouza High School, then went on to study a Bachelor of Science in physics at St. Xavier's College in Mumbai. This was followed by a postgraduate diploma in marketing management and a diploma in computer science. Later, he added a qualification in travel management, which led him into professional roles in travel, foreign exchange and advertising. However, throughout this time, Fernandez continued playing as a musician, performing with several bands across India.

In 1996, Ben decided to quit corporate life and pursue a career in music. He began to compose jingles for television advertising, create movie soundtracks, and score theatre productions. The jingle he composed for the television channel Star Movies won gold at the 2005 ProMax Awards in Singapore. In 2004, Ben decided to move to Tāmaki Makaurau to study jazz. He visited the New Zealand School of Music in Auckland to enquire about studying, where the composer Phil Broadhurst was a tutor at the time. Broadhurst invited him to a jazz gig at the London Bar that evening, where he then asked him to play an impromptu improvisational performance with the band on stage. Broadhurst was impressed by Fernandez’s musical ability and offered him a place in the course. He went on to gain his Master's degree in music, majoring in jazz performance, from the University of Auckland, where he researched how elements of Indian classical music are used in jazz improvisation. In an interview for RNZ’s Here Now podcast, he said, “There are so many elements of Indian music in my playing as a piano player, so why don't I try and incorporate some of these styles in my identity as a piano player?”

Since graduating, Fernandez has built a successful career as a musician. As well as being the on-call pianist for functions hosted by the Governor General of New Zealand, he has performed in over 25 countries at international events such as the Cannes Film Festival, the Afro-Asian Games closing ceremony in Hyderabad, the Publishers’ Charity Ball in Hong Kong, and New Year’s celebrations at the World Trade Centre in Dubai.

He has also released eight albums and several EPs, which include covers and original music. His album, The Music Never Stopped (2021), was written during the COVID-19 pandemic when the country was in lockdown, which he responded to through his music. Several songs were inspired by family members he lost during this time, including his aunt, who was the namesake of the track ‘Chuchi’, and the track ‘B and B’ was named after his uncles, Bene and Benji.

Fernandez often uses his talents as a pianist to support other members of the arts scene in Tāmaki Makaurau. In 2022, he participated in the professional development programme, SANDBOX, as a mentor to early-career Aotearoa Asian musicians. He has also teaches piano and musical improvisation at several high schools and colleges throughout Tāmaki Makaurau, as well as at his home studio, and conducts workshops on improvisation, Indian music and musicianship.

Fernandez was the keyboardist for A Mixtape for Maladies, the 2025 play by Ahilan Karunaharan. In the same year, he released the EP Everything Changes, a small collection of piano compositions that he had written in response to a wrist injury he suffered in 2022, after which he was told that he may not be able to play piano again. These songs were written throughout this journey of recovery, where he went through physiotherapy in order to return to the instrument and form that he has dedicated his life to. In May 2025, Fernandez orchestrated Bollywood meets Jazz, a one-night-only performance in collaboration with the Auckland Jazz Orchestra, which featured contemporary jazz-inspired arrangements of Bollywood tunes.