Biography

The music of Christopher Mitchell has been described as “raw with emotion and honesty.” Christopher earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Arizona State University where he studied with Jody Rockmaker, Kotoka Suzuki and Rodney Rogers. He earned his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from Southern Illinois University with his primary focus in music theory/composition with Frank Stemper, Kathleen Ginther and Eric Mandat. Christopher studied piano performance with Wilfred Delphin, Sandra Wright Shen and Heidi Louise Williams and has performed in numerous recitals, concerts and master classes specializing in music of the 20th/21st centuries. His compositions have been performed and read by such artists and groups as Irvine Arditti, Ensemble Interface, Ensemble PHACE, and Ensemble Dal Niente. His works have been performed and featured at the Outside the Box New Music Festival, the Charlotte New Music Festival, the North American Saxophone Alliance Regional Conference at New Mexico State University, the Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice at the New England Conservatory, Clarinetfest 2017 (International Clarinet Association) in Orlando, Florida, the Valencia International Performance Academy and Festival in Valencia, Spain, the Biennial North American Saxophone Alliance National Conference at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, the 2018 Bowling Green State University Graduate Student Music Conference, the 2018 Vienna Summer Music Festival, the World Sax Congress in Zagreb, Croatia, and the 2018 Belgian Clarinet Academy in Belgium, Iceland, Idaho State University, Dickinson State University and most recently at the June in Buffalo festival at the University at Buffalo, the New York Viola Society in New York City and Clarinetfest 2019 (International Clarinet Association) at the University of Tennessee.