Born in North Carolina, Ben Folds specializes in experimental songwriting.  This has led him to collaborate with performers ranging from Neil Gaiman to William Shatner, from Amanda Palmer to Weird Al Yankovic (when not leading his band, the Ben Folds Five).  He has contributed to film soundtracks & worked with the Boston Pops and Nashville Symphony, among others.  He is an actor, photographer, adjudicator and advisor to the National Symphony orchestra.