Ben Willis became a musician at age 5 when, after seeing a boy his age play the piano on a Mr. Roger’s episode, he marched up to the church organist and asked her when she could start giving him keyboard lessons. A steady diet of piano, pipe organ, community theater, and an Episcopal children’s choir cemented his avocation. High school brought a vocal jazz ensemble and, in college, he traveled the country with the Notre Dame Glee Club and its 12-member a cappella ensemble, The Undertones.

While on a national Undertones tour from Indiana to California, he snuck in a job interview and landed his first “real” job. A year later he met his now-husband (see Matt Hall, tenor) through sacra/profana, a new-music choir he joined shortly after moving to San Diego. The first dance at their wedding was sung by the Velvetones, an a cappella group that Matt and Ben founded who specialized in weddings, flash mobs, and farmer’s markets. After relocating to New England, Ben was a founding member and director of design for Collegium Ancora, a professional chamber choir in Providence, RI.

Returning to his home state in 2019, Ben is delighted to sing with the Chestnuts. By day, Ben is an architect with Union Studio, a mission-driven firm that aims to enrich communities through the power of design.

Ben Willis

Baritone/Tenor