Christopher Swist

Christopher Swist composes in a wide variety of genres that explore both the traditional and the experimental. His instrumentation pallet encompasses a great deal of marimba literature as well as chamber music, orchestral music and electronic music. His compositions have been performed across the United States and Canada as well as in Europe, Brazil and Argentina. His solo CD "Whitewater" (which features his Studio 4 publications) was released in 2001 and was funded by the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust for New Music. Christopher has taught percussion, composition, music technology, counterpoint, and music theory at Keene State College in New Hampshire since 2003. He is also on faculty at Holyoke Community College since 2002. He was the percussion instructor at Bennington College from 1998-2002. He performs as a symphonic percussionist in the Hartford Symphony, New Britain Symphony, Orchestra New England, Ridgefield Symphony, Waterbury Symphony, Eastern Connecticut Symphony, Bridgeport Symphony, Norwalk Symphony, and the New Haven Symphony. Christopher Swist is a native of Buffalo, N.Y. and is part of an extensive musical family. Both of his parents are members of the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame. He completed a B.M. in Music Performance under the tutelage of Jan Williams and Tony Miranda at the University of Buffalo. He moved to New England in 1997 were he completed dual M.M. degrees in Performance and Composition at The Hartt School. At Hartt, he studied percussion with Ben Toth and Al Lepak and composition with Robert Carl, Steven Gryc, Ken Steen, and Ingram Marshall.