With 16 years as a music educator and musician in the Roaring Fork Valley, Chris reached out to the Grand Junction Symphony Choir to express his interest in the program and his dedication to the bassoon. Chris excelled at his live audition in December and secured a position with the GJSO, now in its 39th season.
Ready to embrace a new challenge, Chris now needs a professional-quality bassoon with the capacity to play all the most advanced notes.
As a member of the JAS Pays to Play private-lesson faculty and a JAS In-Schools Instructor, Chris helps area students realize their music goals through private lessons and by assisting band classes for schools in Aspen, Glenwood Springs, Rifle and New Castle. Students are given free lessons thanks to the generous support from JAS donors. At the Waldorf School, he teaches wind instruments and percussion class to middle school students.
Thanks to his wide breadth of involvement in the valley, Chris hopes this new opportunity to perform as part of a professional orchestra will inspire his students to believe in the power of being dedicated to your practice—a dream he never thought would be realized for himself.
“I want to be in challenging musical situations,” Chris said in his New Year, New Sounds proposal. “I want to play with musicians who are way better than me, to continue learning and getting better on my instruments. And the reason for all of this, is for me to be the very best teacher I can for the next generation of musicians.”
In order to perform at a professional level, Chris started a GoFundMe campaign to help secure the $20,000-$28,000 required to buy a new (or used) bassoon. His current bassoon is actually a student model on loan! So far, he’s raised half of the $12,000 needed.
To help realize this goal— even small donations will help —please visit this link to donate : http://tinyurl.com/bassoonfund.