About the music
Engaging. Accessible.
Artful. Deep.
The music you will find here tells stories—some fun and charming, others wistful or poignant—all built on the qualities that make classical music so compelling: expressive structures, rich harmonies, interesting counterpoint, varied color palette, and careful craftsmanship.
I am a firm believer that artful music can (and should) still be accessible. Music that is both deep and accessible is music that engages—from the first listening to the hundredth. These convictions grew out of the music I love most.
I love counterpoint—whether it is a Josquin madrigal, Mozart’s Requiem, or a Schubert piano trio—and you will hear its influence in nearly everything I write.
I love the broad structures composers create: the way a sonata or rondo can tell a story about the music itself over fifteen or twenty minutes.
I love the inventiveness of Haydn, the variety of Beethoven’s symphonies, the expressiveness of Elgar—and I strive to bring that same spirit of discovery to my own work.
My love of this kind of music is what led me to composing. If you enjoy what you encounter on these pages, please drop me a line. But most of all, enjoy!
What I love most about Chris’s works is their immediacy. At every moment there is a potent direction, a flow that informs the listener that something interesting is happening now, that a story is being told, that emotions are steadily evolving toward some definable end. Chris imbues every page with structure and craftsmanship and careful planning, all geared toward the single purpose of a passionate, directly communicable, and intrinsically human experience.
Music touches us.
It bypasses our defenses and speaks to our hearts. The emotion expressed by music draws us in and builds a connection among listeners, performers, and composers. Join me in that connection—perhaps you have a story to be told!