Meet Board Member David Benefiel
David Benefiel of Sebastopol, CA joined the ARS Board in September 2022. He serves on the Finance and Member Benefits Committee.
When my daughter was in elementary school, music instruction began with the soprano recorder. To encourage her and to have fun together, I took up the recorder.
By chance, I played with the Sonoma County Recorder Society and ended up moving to Sonoma County (CA) when I retired. Through the recorder, I have many friends and acquaintances. It has led me to serve on the board of the Occidental Center for the Arts.
Through the ARS directory, I was able to find chapters in Honolulu (HI) and Charleston (SC) and play with them when visiting my daughter and her family as the Navy moved them to different places.
The San Francisco Bay Area is a great place to be a recorder player. I have attended many workshops, and have received lessons from excellent teachers. I have the good luck to play with several groups. Two meet weekly, including a Prescott early music ensemble. I especially enjoy playing contrabass, including continuo for Baroque pieces. Adapting music for the recorder is a hobby, and I am able to try out the arrangements locally and at music workshops.
Music, the recorder and the ARS have enriched my life in many ways. I hope to further the goals of the ARS and enrich the lives of other players through my service on the ARS Board of Directors.
