Ben Sabey is a composer, electronic musician, and educator based in San Francisco. He serves as the Director of the School of Music and Head of Composition, Theory, and Electronic Music at San Francisco State University. His music has been commissioned and performed by many leading ensembles in locations throughout the world including the Mivos Quartet, Arditti Quartet, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, New York New Music Ensemble, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, and Ensemble PHASE (Seoul).

Ben’s recent highlights include a 2024 Maison Dora Maar Fellowship in France and selection as a Featured Composer for the Barlow Endowment’s 40th Anniversary Festival. His large-scale chamber work, Dream Suite, was premiered by the Earplay Ensemble for their 40th anniversary season. He frequently performs alongside pianist Nick Bacchetto as the Bacchetto/Sabey Duo, on a custom-designed electronic instrument. His expansive work for piano and live electronics, The Wine-dark Sea, has been heard at universities and institutions across the US.

A significant facet of Ben's work is his engagement with traditional Korean instruments. These compositions include Scattered Wings for solo haegeum, premiered at Carnegie Hall by Eunah Noh, and Pacific I and II for piri with piano or percussion, premiered at SFSU and the National Gugak Center in Seoul, respectively.

Beyond his creative work, Ben is a dedicated arts advocate and community leader. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Earplay Ensemble, previously served a four-year tenure on the Barlow Endowment Advisory Board, and frequently directs interdisciplinary student arts initiatives and local community benefit concerts. His discography includes the solo portrait album Winter Shore on Albany Records, which Gramophone praised as revealing, “a brilliant technique and a keen ear for sound, timbre and arc.” He holds a PhD in composition from the University of California, San Diego.