Born in Shkoder – Albania, Besnik began his violin studies at the age of six at the Arts High School “Prenke Jakova”. In 1987 he is accepted into the Viola class at the University of Arts in Tirana. From 1992 Besnik continues his Viola studies at the Conservatory “Giuseppe Verdi” in Milan – Italy. Graduates in 1996, and same year finishes the Specialized Course of Orchestra Studies with Maestro Danilo Rossi- Principal Viola of Theatre “La Scala “in Milan – Italy.
During his Conservatory years in Milan Besnik was also employed by “Giuseppe Verdi” -Symphony Orchestra and later by “Guido Cantelli” – Chamber Orchestra. With both orchestras Besnik performed throughout Europe, Salzburg, Gent, Monaco, Lugano, Prague, Ankara, as well as all major cities in Italy: Milan, Rome, Florence, Turin, Naples, Palermo, Lucca.
In 1999, Besnik immigrates to Canada. In 2000, he won the position of Assistant Principal Viola with Windsor Symphony Orchestra. Same time, he continues his collaboration with Canadian and American orchestras such as Opera Mississauga, Orchestra London Ontario, Huntsville Festival Orchestra, Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, and Detroit Symphony Orchestra. In 2003, the Windsor Symphony premiered Besnik’s piece Potpourri, and in 2007 he performed third movement of Concerto for Violin and Orchestra of Albanian Composer Pjeter Gaci. In 2004, Besnik is nominated for the Gemini Awards, while in 2008 he is the winner of Juno Awards with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra.
In 2015 Besnik finishes his Master studies at the Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Currently, Besnik is finishing the DMA studies in Viola performance at the University of California Santa Barbara. From 2018, he performs in the role of Principal Viola with Santa Barbara Choral Society.
