Workshop/Residency offerings

Inspiring musicians of all stylistic backgrounds, technical abilities and experiences to develop and deepen their improvisational skills with creativity and awareness through techniques, exercises and games of creative limitations.

• Focuses on building creativity, awareness and listening skills
• All levels of experience and stylistic background can be accommodated
• Includes exercises and games for working within creative limitations

Christian often hears, "I wish I could improvise but I don't know what to do." from students and musicians who are unfamiliar with improvisation. This often comes from musicians trained…read more…

This activity rehearses your ensemble or a section of your ensemble with a focus of your choice. Focuses on building technique and deepening musicianship and can be focused on either general concepts or on a specific topic of your choosing.

Christian has extensive experience leading master classes with ensembles and ensemble sections in all levels of education. He can work with a trombone section, a full brass section or…read more…

Designed to inspire composers to think about their work in new ways, the focus can be on electronic music, big band, small jazz group, or solo compositions where the composer is also the performer. It can be structured as a lecture where Christian shares his compositional processes or as an interactive workshop where student composers present pieces for commentary and development. read more…

A methodology for composition and improvisation

In this activity, Christian uses conducted signs to communicate structural limitations for improvisers to work within as one technique of teaching improvisation. These gestures were developed out of the “Soundpainting” sign language created by Walter Thompson, with whom Christian has worked…read more…

How to get the most out of one’s practice time

This activity:

•    Helps students get the most out of their practice sessions

•    Focuses on efficiency as well as creativity

•    Applies to improvisation and composed music

All musicians know that practice is the way to get from where one is to where one wants to be, but what is the most efficient way to practice? To this question, Christian says…read more…

This activity will work to inspire students of any ensemble to perform with expression, awareness and intensity.

Big band was one of Christian’s first musical inspirations and it continues to inform his compositions and performance today. He learned much of his ensemble coaching abilities by playing with and learning from inspiring artists such as Bob Brookmeyer, George Russell, Maria Schneider…read more…