Chris’s formative years were spent in the unexciting and uninspiring world of suburban Windsor, Ontario. Feelings of restlessness, coupled with a latent gender confusion, soon led Chris on a decades-long search for selfhood. This led first to Vancouver, and later to Stony Brook, NY, where she earned her Ph.D. She finally found a sense of wholeness and completeness when she came out in 2020.
Coming out has led to simple yet profound changes in her compositional style. She has managed to keep her unique blend of rich harmony, gentle lyricism, and dense counterpoint, but tempered it with a new sense of simplicity and openness, often incorporating queer themes. She has also found a new sense of focus, spending the last several years working almost exclusively with choral and organ music (she is also a life-long church musician). This year will see the premieres of several new choral and organ works, as well as the publication of a collection of organ pieces by Augsburg Fortress.
Chris attended the universities of Windsor (B.Mus.), and British Columbia (M.Mus.), before completing a Ph.D. (also in music) at Stony Brook.
Coming out has led to simple yet profound changes in her compositional style. She has managed to keep her unique blend of rich harmony, gentle lyricism, and dense counterpoint, but tempered it with a new sense of simplicity and openness, often incorporating queer themes. She has also found a new sense of focus, spending the last several years working almost exclusively with choral and organ music (she is also a life-long church musician). This year will see the premieres of several new choral and organ works, as well as the publication of a collection of organ pieces by Augsburg Fortress.
Chris attended the universities of Windsor (B.Mus.), and British Columbia (M.Mus.), before completing a Ph.D. (also in music) at Stony Brook.