Long Bio:

A composer, singer/songwriter, educator, guitarist, and sound artist, Chris Cresswell is a curious musician whose work betrays his affection for sonic wanderlust. With an ear that incorporates all sorts of sounds, from pitch set theory and baroque counterpoint, to field recordings and a singer/songwriter at an open mic night, Cresswell’s music has been praised for its '“textural variety” (Gramophone) that “… blurs the boundaries between industrial and organic, soothing and suspenseful, and introspective and anxious” (International Clarinet Association), creating “a truly immersive, dreamlike atmosphere” (PopMatters). He has shared the stage with a Pulitzer Prize winning poet and a Top 40 country star (two different occasions) and his music has been heard in coffee shops, concert halls, and venues around the world, from chic Brooklyn spots like Areté Venue and Gallery and The Firehouse Space, to Birmingham, Englands’s renown Symphony Hall and the Paleis voor Schone Kunsten in Brussels.

Cresswell’s compositions have received awards and recognition from ASCAP, the National Band Association, the Jerome Fund, the International Music Council, Rostrum+, among many others. Recent highlights include the world premiere of a new work for trumpet and electronics, Convenient bits of unupholstered furniture by Andy Kozar, and a new work classical guitar and electronics, in search of distant guiding suns by Benjamin Ellis. He collaborated with choreographer Maya June Dwyer for Society for New Music’s Vision of Sound program and was Composer in Residence at Henninger High School and ITC in Syracuse, NY. In 2023, his works have been performed at festivals across the United States, including CAMPGround23 in Tampa, FL, SPLICE Institute in Kalamazoo, MI, and Time:Spans Festival in New York City. Pianist Anne H. Goldberg-Baldwin released this is where I am right now, a work for piano and electronics, in February 2023 on her album Permutations on Ravello Records. The Byrne:Kozar:Duo will release all that’s left is dirt and sky for soprano, trumpet, and electronics on their debut album on New Focus Recordings on August 4, 2023.

A versatile performer, Cresswell performs as a singer/songwriter, a solo electric guitarist exploring contemporary classical and ambient worlds, and as a member of his chamber group. He has sung on stage with Errollyn Wallen at the Birmingham Town Hall in England, performed experimental electric guitar works at Andrea Clearfield’s Salon in Philadelphia, and is the founder and artistic director of 315 Ensemble. A chamber music sextet featuring flutes, clarinets, violin, cello, piano, and electric guitar, 315 Ensemble champions and commissions new acoustic and electroacoustic music.

An active educator, Cresswell is known for his unique approach to musical pedagogy that places the student’s creativity at the center. He was the director of the Young Composers Project at Birmingham Conservatoire and taught composition at the Birmingham Junior Conservatoire. He has worked as a teaching artist with Redhouse Arts Center and at Syracuse City Schools. In 2014, Cresswell began running the recording and music program at Lake of the Woods & Greenwoods Summer Camp, a position held through 2018 and again in 2022. This led to the formation of the One Mic Project, which uses portable recording equipment to transform a classroom or any other space into a recording studio, empowering people through creativity. He has presented on the use of music technology in the classroom at Society of Composers, Inc. and at CiTi BOCES Arts in Education. His passion for youth development led to him working at Fiver Children’s Foundation, a non-profit that builds relationships that nurture so that youth from systemically under-resourced communities in New York can create their own positive futures.

Cresswell is currently an adjunct lecturer in the Music Department at Onondaga Community College, where he teaches courses on Music Appreciation, Music Business, Music Technology, Music of the African Diaspora, and has a composition studio. He is also an adjunct professor in the Communication and Film Studies department at Le Moyne College, where he teaches a course on audio production.

In addition to these creative and educational roles, Cresswell has worked as an arts administrator at Boosey & Hawkes, Black Tea Music, and has served on the board of directors for Society for New Music and Full of Noises (UK). He currently serves on the board of Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music and is an occasional fill in host on WCNY-FM, Central New York’s Classical music station.

Outside of music, Chris is an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan, enjoys running, drinking good coffee, and hanging out with his wife and their cat, Eloise, who is affectionately known as “the floof”.

Short Bio:

A composer, singer/songwriter, educator, guitarist, and sound artist, Chris Cresswell is a curious musician whose work betrays his affection for sonic wanderlust. With an ear that incorporates all sorts of sounds, from field recordings to a singer/songwriter at an open mic night, Cresswell’s music has been praised for its '“textural variety” (Gramophone) that “… blurs the boundaries between industrial and organic, soothing and suspenseful, and introspective and anxious” (International Clarinet Association), creating “a truly immersive, dreamlike atmosphere” (PopMatters). He has shared the stage with a Pulitzer Prize winning poet and a Top 40 country star (two different occasions) and his music has been heard in coffee shops, concert halls, and venues around the world, from chic Brooklyn spots like Areté Venue and Gallery and The Firehouse Space, to Birmingham, Englands’s renown Symphony Hall and the Paleis voor Schone Kunsten in Brussels.