Hometown:  Rochester, New York

Member: 1990

Chris began playing the violin when he was in the first grade at age six.

What do you want patrons of the Symphony to know about you?
It is true for me and for most musicians that having an excited, engaged audience brings out my best performing. You, the audience, don’t realize how important your emotional and intellectual involvement is, how strongly you affect what you’re hearing from us.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a professional musician?
Maybe teaching of some kind. It is actually very difficult to imagine doing anything else.

What teacher, mentor or other influencer inspired you the most?
I was very privileged to have studied violin with Josef Gingold at Indiana University. His warm musical approach and inspiration made an indelible impression.

What do you do in your spare time?
I am very involved in prayer and church life. For my family and myself, a spiritual understanding of things is foundational and knowing Christ is the key.

What is your favorite thing about being a professional musician?
Getting to a really well-prepared performance of truly great literature and sensing the audience gets it.

What sport(s) do you participate in?
Bicycling, hiking, swimming.

What is your favorite food?
I like to grill food. I like to make it myself – different things like steak, chicken, ribs, even fish and vegetables. Early on I developed a fascination with fire.

Who is your favorite composer?
J. S. Bach. He’s the basis of everything else in Western tonal music.

Career Highlights
I appeared as a soloist with the St. Augustine Music Festival, the Jacksonville Symphony, the Savannah Symphony and the Yamagata Symphony of Japan. In 2008, I toured Europe with the Pittsburgh Symphony. I am also a founding organizer of Prelude Chamber Music Camp along with Symphony colleagues Jeanne Majors and Vernon Humbert.

Education
Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Music, Eastman School of Music; Master’s Degree in Violin Performance, Indiana University.