“The CRYO4 ligature allows me to play with a warm yet colorful sound and an ease of articulation on both clarinet and bass clarinet.” ~ Christopher Kirkpatrick
BIO
Christopher Kirkpatrick is Associate Professor of Music at the University of Montana where he teaches clarinet and music history. He has performed and taught throughout the United States, Canada, and South Korea. As an orchestral musician he has performed with the Detroit Symphony, Lansing Symphony, West Michigan Symphony, Brevard Music Center Orchestra, New Mexico Symphony Orchestra and the Santa Fe Symphony. Dr. Kirkpatrick has been an adjudicator for the International Clarinet Association’s Young Artist Competition, the Music Teachers National Association, and throughout the US.
Dr. Kirkpatrick has been a guest artist and lecturer at numerous conferences, including the International Clarinet Association’s Clarinetfest®, North American Saxophone Alliance Conference, International Double Reed Society Conference, River City Winter Clarinet Festival, College Music Society Conference, the Brandon University Clarinet Festival, World Bass Clarinet Congress, and the Montana/Idaho Clarinet Festival. During the summers he is on the faculty of the International Music Camp in Manitoba, Canada.
As a member of Duo Nyans, he is dedicated to commissioning and premiering new works and performing the standard repertoire for clarinet and saxophone. The duo has been invited to perform at numerous conferences and universities, most recently performing at the 2016 ClarinetFest. They will release their debut album in 2017.
An avid enthusiast of new music, recent commissions include works by Christopher Stark, Simon Hutchinson, Evan Chambers, James David, David Biedenbender and Roger Petersen. Dr. Kirkpatrick also serves as the Montana state chair of the International Clarinet Association.
Christopher Kirkpatrick earned his Doctorate in Clarinet Performance from Michigan State University, a Master of Music from the University of New Mexico and his Bachelor of Music from the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. His teachers have included Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, Keith Lemmons, Steve Cohen, Ted Gurch, Nikolasa Tejero and Peter Temko. He is proud to be a Silverstein Pro Team Artist.
