Orpheus Annual Gala Honoring Mark Benedetti & Ronnie Bauch

Mark Benedetti’s commitment to philanthropy is exemplified through his support of Year Up, a program that provides young people with valuable work experience. This initiative reflects his dedication to empowering the next generation and creating opportunities for growth and success.

Before joining Ardian in 2006, Mark Benedetti developed his skills and knowledge at KPMG Corporate Finance. There, he specialized in mergers, acquisitions, and capital raising within the firm's Advisor group, contributing to significant financial transactions and strategic advisory services. Prior to this position, Mark was part of KPMG’s Assurance group, where he developed a strong foundation in auditing and financial assurance.

Mark Benedetti's extensive experience and leadership have been instrumental in Ardian's success, making him a key figure in the firm's continued growth and innovation in the private equity landscape.

As the primary architect of Orpheus' first education and outreach programs, including a virtual conservatory-without-walls curriculum for training 21st century musicians, he designed groundbreaking experiential learning programs for the Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Indiana University, the Paris Conservatory, Interlochen Arts Academy and Baruch High School. As a creator of the Orpheus Process® demonstration, Mr. Bauch has been a featured speaker at Stanford, Columbia, and Hitotsubashi (Tokyo) Universities, the Universities of Pennsylvania, Illinois, Iowa, California at Berkeley, NYU and Baruch College. Ronnie currently splits his time between New York City and the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where he is the Artistic Director of the North Country Chamber Players.

As a soloist, Curtis Stewart has been presented by Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cal Performances, Washington Performing Arts, Virginia Arts Festival, The Juilliard School, and the 2022 GRAMMY® Awards, among many others. He has made special appearances with Los Angeles Opera and singer-songwriter Tamar Kali; as curator and guest soloist with Anthony Roth Costanzo and the New York Philharmonic “Bandwagon,” touring performance installations from NYC’s Whitney Museum, Guggenheim Museum, and Museum of Modern Art; to MTV specials with Wyclef Jean; and sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden with Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, and Seal.

Both Stewart’s 2021 album of quarantined song cycles and art videos, Of Power (Bright Shiny Things), and his 2023 album, of Love.—a tribute to his late mother Elektra Kurtis-Stewart—were nominated for GRAMMY® Awards for Best Classical Instrumental Solo. His recording of Julia Perry’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra with the Experiential Orchestra (Bright Shiny Things) was nominated for a 2025 GRAMMY Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo.

Stewart has been commissioned to compose new solo, chamber, and orchestral works by the Seattle Symphony, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall’s Play/USA, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo and members of the New York Philharmonic, The Knights, La Jolla Music Society, Sybarite5, the New York Festival of Song, Newport Classical Festival, the Royal Conservatory of Music, the Eastman Cello Institute, Orlando Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and more. In 2022, he was named Artistic Director of the American Composers Orchestra, a national organization dedicated to the creation, celebration, performance, and promotion of orchestral music by diverse and innovative American composers.

An enthusiastic educator, Curtis Stewart currently teaches at The Juilliard School and the Perlman Music Program, and for ten years led all levels of music theory and orchestra at the LaGuardia High School for Music & Art and Performing Arts in NYC. Learn more at www.curtisjstewart.com.