Dr. David Benson grew up as part of a musical, Norwegian, farming family in Skagit Valley. His early musical performances were at churches, nursing homes, and Sons of Norway gatherings across the Northwest as part of his family string quartet.
Once enrolled at Pacific Lutheran University, he majored in music and biology and was the concertmaster of the University Symphony Orchestra. He studied under Ann Tremaine (a Jascha Heifetz protege) and Marta Szlubowska (a Charles Treger protege). The PLU faculty selected David to play for the renowned violinist Charles Treger in a widely attended master class. He later also won the PLU soloist competition with his rendition of Zigeunerweisen by Sarasate performed with University Symphony Orchestra.
After a brief stint as a church music pastor in Puyallup, Dr. Benson graduated from medical school at the University of Washington. Currently, while running his own family medicine clinic in Mount Vernon, he also serves as the concertmaster for the Skagit Valley Symphony. During the 2022 season, he performed as a soloist with the symphony on their pops concert rendition of Schindler’s List.
Dr. David Benson and Terhi Miikki-Broersma can be heard performing as an ensemble throughout Whatcom and Skagit counties with the goal of making profound classical music more readily accessible to the general public.