About

With a background in Russian piano traditions that draw from the convergence of storytelling, dance, theater and painting, Christopher’s performances have ranged from Handel’s solo keyboard suites at St Martin-in-the-Fields to synth collaborations with hip-hop legends The Outlawz, to piano-driven videoscapes of Ravel, to multi-instrument arrangements with the Living Classrooms Youth Choir of Baltimore playing Tupac and Bach.

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Christopher earned his Doctor of Musical Arts diploma in Piano Performance from the University of North Texas under the mentorship of Vladimir Viardo, winner of the 1973 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. His publication Between the Staves explores the creative tasks of performance through a deep dive into the work of Claude Debussy’s Epigraphes Antiques.

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Together with regular musical collaborator, Sofia Hailu, Christopher founded CounterClassic – a music & visual ensemble creating original performances that juxtapose classical, jazz and rap artists with live projection mappers, breakdancers and electronic/synth musicians.  Inspired by the parallels between these previously disconnected art forms, CounterClassic brings together the shared discipline and mastery of all artists to inspire new music and visual works built on top of the foundations of old school musical traditions.  

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A New Orleans native, Christopher proudly serves as Music Director and Vice President of the NOLA based music collective Jukebox Castle, which recently performed Kurt Weill’s “Seven Deadly Sins” alongside some of New Orleans’ most famous chefs, who were challenged to create unique dishes paired to each of the 7 Deadly Sins.