{{Short description|American composer and musician (born 1988)}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Ben Cosgrove | image = File:BenCosgrove.png | image_size = 200px | caption = Cosgrove playing live in Boulder, Colorado in 2013 | landscape = yes | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1988|1|30}} | instrument = piano, keyboards, organ, accordion, upright bass, guitar, percussion, trumpet, trombone, euphonium, violin, field recordings | genre = Instrumental
| occupation = Composer, Multi-instrumentalist, Producer | years_active = 2010–present | associated_acts = The Ghost of Paul Revere | website = [http://bencosgrove.com/ bencosgrove.com] |module={{infobox person |embed=yes | education = Harvard University}} }} '''Ben Cosgrove''' (born 30 January 1988) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist from Methuen, Massachusetts, whose work explores the intersection of sound and place.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Daley |first=Lauren |date=October 11, 2023 |title='Landscape enthusiast' Ben Cosgrove has composed music for the likes of NASA and Acadia National Park |work=The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/10/11/arts/landscape-enthusiast-ben-cosgrove-has-composed-music-likes-nasa-acadia-national-park/ |access-date=October 16, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Patrick Lauppe |url=http://ofa.fas.harvard.edu/wordpress/?p=13645 |title=Harvard Arts Blog » Ben Cosgrove '10 talks music, national parks and urgent signals |publisher=Ofa.fas.harvard.edu |date=2012-10-17 |accessdate=2014-02-02 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203052918/http://ofa.fas.harvard.edu/wordpress/?p=13645 |archivedate=2014-02-03 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://soundcloud.com/wnpr/in-studio-with-ben-cosgrove|title=In Studio with Ben Cosgrove|publisher=Connecticut Public Radio/WNPR|date=February 8, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2013-09-25|title=Composer and musician Ben Cosgrove portrays place in "Yankee Division," a new CD | Harvard Magazine Jul-Aug 2012|url=http://harvardmagazine.com/2012/07/listen-to-the-landscape|accessdate=2014-02-02|publisher=Harvardmagazine.com}}</ref>
==Releases and recognition== His 2011 album, ''Yankee Division,'' is based on landscapes around New England, taking its name from the Yankee Division Highway.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://residentmediapundit.com/?p=2102 |title=» Desktop Submissions: Ben Cosgrove's Yankee Division |publisher=Residentmediapundit.com |accessdate=2014-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219015321/http://residentmediapundit.com/?p=2102 |archive-date=2014-02-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2014, he released ''Field Studies'', an album exploring the wider American landscape, from the Sierra Nevada to the Everglades.<ref>{{cite web|author=Ben Cosgrove |url=http://www.bencosgrove.com/?page_id=11/#fieldstudies |title=Store |publisher=ben cosgrove |date= |accessdate=2014-02-02}}</ref> In 2015, Cosgrove released a live album, ''Solo Piano'', which features recordings collected from performances in thirteen different states.<ref>{{cite web|title=Red Line Roots: Ben Cosgrove - Solo Piano review|date=5 November 2015|url=http://www.redlineroots.com/2015/11/ben-cosgrove-solo-piano-album-review/|accessdate=2015-12-13}}</ref> His 2017 studio album, ''Salt'', is a concept record comparing landscapes of flux and ambiguity to personal tumult and emotional unrest.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sound of Boston: Album Review - Salt by Ben Cosgrove|date=15 May 2017|url=http://soundofboston.com/album-review-salt-ben-cosgrove/|accessdate=2017-06-29}}</ref> Later releases include ''The Trouble With Wilderness'' (2021), ''Bearings'' (2023), and ''Topograph'' (2026).<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web|title=WBUR: Listen: Ben Cosgrove Makes Music For The Life Between The Cracks|url=https://www.wbur.org/artery/2021/02/01/ben-cosgrove-machine-in-the-garden/|accessdate=2021-02-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Red Line Roots: Fresh Track: Ben Cosgrove "The Machine In The Garden"|date=2 February 2021|url=http://www.redlineroots.com/2021/02/ben-cosgrove-new-album/|accessdate=2021-02-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Keohane |first1=Joe |title=Ben Cosgrove Gets Lost |journal=Yankee |date=30 December 2025 |url=https://newengland.com/yankee/magazine/0126-ben-cosgrove-gets-lost/ |access-date=23 February 2026}}</ref>
In addition to his solo work, he often tours and records with other artists, including The Ghost of Paul Revere and Darlingside.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-08-28|title=The Ghost Of Paul Revere Releases New Album, 'Good At Losing Everything' [Listen]|url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/news/the-ghost-of-paul-revere-good-at-losing-everything-listen/|access-date=2020-09-24|website=L4LM|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="About Ben - Ben Cosgrove">{{cite web|date=|title=About Ben - Ben Cosgrove|url=http://bencosgrove.com/?page_id=5/|accessdate=2014-10-29|publisher=www.bencosgrove.com}}</ref>
Cosgrove's landscape compositions are discussed in Conor Knighton's ''Leave Only Footprints'' (2020) and Matthew Doucet's ''You've Never Heard Your Favorite Song: 100 Deep Cuts to Make Your World Sound Better'' (2020).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Knighton |first=Conor |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1155516088|title=Leave only footprints|year=2020|isbn=978-1-9848-2354-0|oclc=1155516088}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Doucet|first=Matthew|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HMr2DwAAQBAJ&q=ben+cosgrove|title=You've Never Heard Your Favorite Song: 100 Deep Cuts to Make Your World Sound Better|date=2020-09-08|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-60433-970-3|language=en}}</ref> He has served as an artist-in-residence with the Schmidt Ocean Institute, the New England National Scenic Trail, the Signet Society, Isle Royale National Park, Acadia National Park, and White Mountain National Forest.<ref>{{cite web|date=2012-04-20|title=Ben Cosgrove|url=http://www.signetsociety.org/fall-2012-ben-cosgrove/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203115946/http://www.signetsociety.org/fall-2012-ben-cosgrove/|archive-date=2013-12-03|accessdate=2014-02-02|publisher=The Signet Society}}</ref><ref name="About Ben - Ben Cosgrove"/><ref>{{cite web|date=|title=Ben Cosgrove - Artist in Residence|url=http://www.aannh.org.dnnmax.com/artistinresidence/BenCosgrove2015AIR/tabid/1014/Default.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222084321/http://www.aannh.org.dnnmax.com/artistinresidence/BenCosgrove2015AIR/tabid/1014/Default.aspx|archive-date=2015-12-22|accessdate=2015-12-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://schmidtocean.org/cruise-log-post/artist-sea-ben-cosgrove-vietnam-guam/|title=ARTIST AT SEA: Ben Cosgrove ~ Vietnam to Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://artists-in-residence-field-notes.com/artist-video-profile-ben-cosgrove-new-england-national-scenic-trail/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190310003951/http://artists-in-residence-field-notes.com/artist-video-profile-ben-cosgrove-new-england-national-scenic-trail/ |archive-date=2019-03-10 |url-status=dead |title=Artist Video Profile: Ben Cosgrove, New England National Scenic Trail |work=Artists in Residence |first=Charles |last=Tracy |date=December 4, 2017 |access-date=2023-01-01}}</ref>
==Literature== Cosgrove also writes nonfiction essays that touch upon place, sound, and art. His writing has appeared in Orion, [http://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/an-ice-storm-comes-to-hubbard-brook Northern Woodlands], and other outlets.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bencosgrove.com/?p=2049 |title=Seven Essays |publisher=Bencosgrove.com |date=2016-04-05 |accessdate=2016-05-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://orionmagazine.org/article/sound-6-million-acres/ |title=Orion Magazine: The Sound of Six Million Acres |accessdate=2017-06-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/an-ice-storm-comes-to-hubbard-brook |title=Northern Woodlands: An Ice Storm Comes to Hubbard Brook |date=21 December 2016 |accessdate=2017-06-29}}</ref>
==References== <references />
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosgrove, Ben}} Category:1988 births Category:21st-century American multi-instrumentalists Category:American new-age musicians Category:Living people Category:Harvard College alumni