Violinist, composer, and 3Arts awardee Brandi Berry Benson, noted for her “four-string acrobatics” and “indispensable skill” (TimeOut Chicago), has been praised as “alert [and] outstanding” (Chicago Classical Review), as her “riffs.. powered by a flashing blur of bow arm, rolled out with irresistible glee” (Washington Post). Brandi has performed with numerous ensembles throughout North America including at the Library of Congress, Festival de Musica Virreinal de Durango, Mexico City’s UNAM, the Boston, Berkeley, Indianapolis, and Madison Early Music Festivals, Early Music Now, the Goodman Theatre, and many others. On TV and radio, she has appeared on WGN Daytime, ABC7, FOX 32, WFMT, WGN-AM, WBEZ, Chicago Irish Radio, and Wisconsin Public Radio. As Artistic Director of the BBE, Brandi has also released four albums: A Gaelic Summer (2019), An Appalachian Summer (2019), Chicago Stories (2021), and Carols (2023), as well as her own, Silver Linings (2023). In November 2023, she premiered her new work for period and indigenous instruments called The Story of Pa I Sha, based on the stories of her Chickasaw ancestors. In February 2026, she premiered five new works, Songs of the Chickasaws, about the stories of five Chickasaw heroes in the Chickasaw Nation. Brandi serves on the faculty of Northwestern and DePaul Universities where she teaches courses on Baroque and Native American music.