About.
I remember what it was like for me when I first started making music. I always loved to sing, and I would try to hash out themes from my favorite TV shows on my dad's keyboard. It wasn’t until high school that I fell in love with music, thanks to my choir teachers. Through their passion for working to connect students to music, I became invested in musical pieces and in my own abilities as a singer.
Throughout my education in music, I have learned a lot of lifelong lessons. I learned how to collaborate with my peers to create something bigger than I could accomplish on my own. I learned the value of versatility and the importance of being able to educate yourself. I learned how technology and music intertwine to keep filling our ears with new, unique sounds and how composers bend and break the established rules of structure to give us unique chord combinations.
I studied opera with Jeffrey Brich at the University of Northern Iowa, gaining better control over my voice and training my ear to analyze my surroundings. I acquired a deep understanding of the interconnectedness of melody, harmony, rhythm and form.
Then, I shifted my focus to performance and education. I started doing 50-100 shows a year as a solo artist, a DJ, and as part of a few different Des Moines bands. I also did music directing and created original sound design for productions at the Des Moines Playhouse, Des Moines Young Artists Theater, Roosevelt High School, and Hoover High School.
I solidified my passion for teaching lessons at the same time, working with 50 private voice and piano students, both independently and as a teaching artist for the non-profit organization City Voices. I also helped create and direct Rock and Hip-Hop summer camps for the Des Moines Music Coalition.
After 6 incredible years in Des Moines, I set my sights on Chicago, IL and lived there from 2018-2023 with my partner Jessie. I still taught as much as possible, and performed over 200 times per year in classrooms, restaurants, lounges, theaters, wedding venues and arenas all over Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin in a variety of capacities. We moved back home to Des Moines, IA in January of 2023 and I am thrilled to be back!
Whenever I'm teaching and performing, you can be sure I'm loving life. Thanks for getting to know me & I can't wait to share my talents with you!
-Chris
