Sundance Fellow Christopher North Makes Music, lots of it, as a
1. Cinema Loving Storyteller, through music and sound (expressed primarily as composer and songwriter)
2. Fearless Multi-Modal Collaborator, who thrives on creative solutions on timelines (as leader and/or team member)
3. Austin-Born, NYC-Based Performing, Recording & Teaching Artist (Composer, Singer/Songwriter, Producer, Multi-Instrumentalist, Improviser, Conductor and Sound Designer). Berklee Asst. Professor (since 2019) and 92nd St Y (since 1997.)
Christopher North is a composer for film (inc Grammy Nominated), TV / original series, theater, dance and various ensembles. He's a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumental musician, having performed at Carnegie Hall and on Grammy award-winning recordings. Hailing from Texas, he's thriving in Brooklyn, having released 20 albums (with abums and soundtracks out soon) and scored 60+ films, screening / distributed around the world. Many of these have won awards at film festivals including Slamdance (where he is two for two), Hamptons, Soho, Big Apple, Houston, Newport Beach, Milan and Coney Island, as well as a special mention at DOC NYC. These credits include: IDA Best Music Film Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes (American Masters PBS), Paint (distributed by Gravitas), A New High (distributed by Orchard in 2017), Missing People (Best at Hamptons), Everything’s Jake (starring Ernie Hudson), Eavesdrop (featuring Grammy Nominated Eroica Trio), Bible Quiz (on Sundance Global, Best Documentary Slamdance 2013), L’Absinthe (thriller set in Paris/Manhattan) and Lucky Days (directed by / starring Angelica Page), all of which can be seen on Netflix, Itunes, Amazon, on DVD, On Demand, etc.
He is proud and honored to be part of the Sundance Family, as a Composer / Fellow in the 2015 Sundance Institute & Skywalker Sound's Music and Sound Design Lab for Documentary Film at Skywalker Ranch. He has been a participant in many BMI workshops (including Film Scoring with Rick Baitz in 2008, Commercial Music with Ron Sadoff in 2012 and Conducting with Lucas Richman in 2016.) His latest released feature film is Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes. This last few years brought several award winning shorts, such as Geoffrey Cantor’s En Suite and Usher Morgan’s Homebound. Other recent films Grammy Nominated Best Music Film Two Trains Runnin’ (music/civil rights doc), Cut Shoot Kill (suspense / horror) - both very well reviewed - and the multi-award winning All In Time (Rom/Com.) Others include feature docs Capturing the Flag and Pot Luck: The Altered State of Colorado and Alexander Etseyatse's Short OTIS at LAFF SXSW, SIFF & Big Apple.
2014 was a magnum opus year, with scores for 4 features, several shorts, 2 original series, 2 dance pieces and music/sound/song for a play. His sound / music for Shandoah Goldman's Neil, a site specific dance piece at the NY Transit museum in Brooklyn, premiered to rave reviews. Bessie Award Winning Sondra Loring set tracks from "short music volume one" to her duet CRUSH for at 92Y. (Other tracks from the same album were dropped into Vanderpump Rules on the Bravo network premiering the same week.) 2015 had many weekends with multiple festival screenings all over the world including festival favorites Think Ink, All in Time, Karl Manhair Postal Inspector, Missing People and A New High. In 2016 North completed two silent shorts, where his music will be the only sound. For latest film scores, see imdb.com
Mr. North been making music / sound for dance and theater since the early 90s, in NYC at venues including Pioneer Works, Roulette, Joyce Soho, 92nd St Y, Wave Hill as well as around the world (London, Edinburg Fringe.)
As a singer/songwriter (eclectic rock, children's music including Disney, Noggin & Sesame Street) he's released several albums going back to the 90s, with radio play and placements in films. His library music (for HAUS, JINGLE PUNKS and MUSICMIND) has been heard all over the globe on countless networks and shows (Including Vanderpump Rules and American Pickers). On 02.02.02, he released two albums, Opus Zero (chamber music & art songs) and De La Sur (rock, funk and folk songs) with related themes between them. Aside from his previously created music and songs being dropped into films, many of his film scores' cues feature songs with lyrics and song forms. His "Feather Lake Song" from Glyn Maxwell's play The Forever Waltz is "as hummable as any contemporary hit". He is currently working a double album of songs (rock, funk, folk), ambient tracks and chamber music called Space Bar.
Mr. North has taught at the 92nd Street Y since 1997 (inc. lessons/classes on Bass, Film Scoring, Songwriting, Guitar and Music Theory) and is proud to teach where his bass teacher, Orin O'Brien of the NY Philharmonic, taught in the 60's. A related highlight was teaching three females bassists. He loves sharing with and learning from students of all kinds and ages. Recently, he's given film scoring chats at Brooklyn College at Steiner Studios, Pratt, SFA in Nacogdoches TX and led a Maximizing Creativity Chat at AES. He's given orchestration / analysis chats on Herrmann, Horner, Williams and Takemitsu for NY Ravel Study Group and Academy of Scoring Arts. He also shared insights on Roli at SCL NY Chat about ROLI / NEW & Innovative Gear and was featured on a Soundhive Session filmed nearby, at their Gowanus studio. Mr. North is thrilled to be a Berklee Asst. Professor since January 2019, commuting to Boston once a week.
AND .. he still loves the occasional sideman gig. He has played bass with Quincy Jones, the Chicks, Rosanne Cash, various 80's one hit wonders, symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles as well on Broadway (The Lion King, Rent, Spring Awakening and Hair). On several of his scores and albums, he has played ALL the instruments. Recently, he has played bass on other composer's film scores, trailers, tv shows (inc. 12 Monkeys) and video games (inc. Wolfenstein and Dishonored.) His playing on his 3 Double Basses (Grunert, Kay and Engelhardt) were featured in Dynamic Sound Sampling's Orchestral String FX sound library. He has also been in demand as a multi-instrumentalist on traditional instruments as well as on newly created boutique instruments, and is likely the only person on the planet who plays and owns a Marcodi Harpejji, a Guitarviol, a Slaperoo, a Suzuki Andes 25, a bass Uke, a Cello Banjo, a ROLI Rise, over 20 harmonicas and a Veillette Gryphon. (Nevertheless, he also loves his old trusted favorites - 1920s Martin Uke, 1933 Kay Bass Fiddle, 1974 Fender P Bass, a 2001 Martin D15 and a 1962 Reissue Fender Tele.) He's sang for other composers' projects (inc albums, films and commercials), whistled for a Disney Pilot and sang with the NY Choral Artists for 10 years including on the 3 Grammy Award winning John Adams' "On the Transmigration of Souls" with the NY Phil. North also sang on Sondheim's Frogs.
Collaborating and making music for film brings out his best work, for which, VARIETY says he's a "Notable Asset" to films "well served by a fine soundtrack". KR says "Hiring North was a wise move." He was thrilled to play themes from the Two Trains Runnin' score at 2018 Newport Folk Festival, sharing the Museum Stage with Valerie June.
His latest passion and life-long, now realized, dream is conducting. His 20 minute Suite for Orchestra "Eavesdrop" in May 2017 with the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra at the Montalban Theater was his LA conducting and concert music premiere. Eavesdrop Suite had it's East Coast Premiere in Boston, as part of the Spectrum Series with Berklee / Boston Conservatory Symphony Orchestra in Fall 2019. His conducting repertoire as well as film music conducting experience are growing and he thoroughly enjoys stepping in to lead the New Conductors Orchestra, ACMA Orchestra (Symphony Space Debut) and NYC Late Starters Orchestra (including some of his own arrangements.) North's Carnegie Hall Conducting Debut & World Premiere of New Work “(on the) Verge Of” on Nov. 18 2023 was fabulous!
His hobbies include all kinds of exercise (half marathons, TRX, KettleBells, Yoga, Biking, Hiking and Boot Camp), photography, reading, coffee, exploring nature, people watching, travel, hanging out in his backyard, collecting skull art, walking in cemeteries and just plain spacing out. Besides meetings, sessions and collabs in LA, regular visits to Park City (for Sundance / Slamdance) and birthplace Austin (for SXSW, Austin FF), he has attended Woodstock Film Festival and IFP conference every year since 2009. His 2019 Kayaking Trip in Prince William Sound, Composing in the Wilderness, was life changing.
His favorite creation is his 15yo Koi (Xavier.)
>>> all coming soon, check back often