Chris Forbes
About Mr. Forbes
Chris Forbes began composing at the age of ten. By his late teens he had written several major works including a full blown piano concerto. A scholarship from Downbeat sent him to Berklee College of Music in Boston, dividing his time between jazz, classical and composition. He studied at the Juilliard School with David Diamond. He has several choral commissions including a piece for the Lesbian and Gay Chorus of Washington, Christ Church UCC, in SilverSpring, MD, and St. Paul’s Cathedral in Boston. His musical, Road Rage was premiered by the In Series in DC. His ballet The Sea Lion was commissioned by the Chicago Composers Forum and premiered by the Chernin Center for the Arts in Chicago. His Ballade for Bassoon and Chamber Orchestra was premiered by the Cannon Valley Orchestra in Northfield, MN. In addition to composition, he is an accomplished jazz and improvising pianist with three recordings under the Unseen Rain Records imprint. He is also an educator of 30+ years and has written over 30 music theater pieces with the Brooklyn teen ensemble “Life Lines” Community Arts Project.