Benjamin Kruithof (*1999) began playing the cello at the age of five at the ‘Conservatoire du Nord’ with Raju Vidali. In recent years, Benjamin has studied with professors such as Mirel Iancovici (Conservatorium Maastricht) and Maria Kliegel (HfMT Cologne). Since 2017, Benjamin has been a student of Prof Jens-Peter Maintz at the Berlin University of the Arts.

Winner of the George Enescu International Competition (2022), Benjamin Kruithof's award-winning performance of the Dvořák Cello Concerto was praised as ‘noble, singing, beautiful’ (Bachtrack). In 2020, Benjamin won first prize, the audience prize and the prize for the best interpretation of the commissioned work at the ‘Cello Biennale Competition’ in Amsterdam. His other competition successes include the Pablo Casals Award in Spain (special prize), the Gabrielli Competition in Berlin (second prize), the Anne and Françoise Groben Grand Prix in Luxembourg (first prize and audience prize), the Flame Competition in Paris (first prize and special prize), the Leopold Bellan International Competition in Paris (first prize and audience prize) and the International Knopf Competition in Düsseldorf.

In July 2023, Benjamin was announced as a European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO) ‘Rising Star’ artist for the 2024/25 season, nominated by the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and the Philharmonie Luxembourg.

As part of the program, Benjamin will perform on some of Europe's most prestigious stages and participate in outreach activities, bespoke new music commissions and further opportunities for professional development through individual workshops and mentoring programs.

As a soloist, Benjamin's recent and upcoming highlights include performances with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, the Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra, the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie Herford, the Liechtenstein Symphony Orchestra and the East-West Chamber Orchestra at the Enescu Festival.

Benjamin Kruithof plays a rare and important violoncello by Bartolomeo Cristofori, Florence c. 1710, a generous loan by a member of the Stretton Society.