Degrees:
M.M., The Hartt School
M.M., The Hartt School
B.M., State Univ. of NY at Buffalo
Christopher Swist grew up in the music industry and was a drum prodigy. He started lessons with Buffalo Philharmonic percussionist John Rowland at age 6. With the mentorship of music industry icons like Mick Guzauski and his father, Larry Swist, he evolved into a recording engineer, studio designer, product developer, studio fabricator, and studio owner. He worked for Lawrence P. Swist Designs, which installed dozens of commercial recording studios in New York City and all over the world.
Christopher’s varied catalog of orchestral, concerti, percussion, chamber and electronic music is published with Alfred Music, Studio 4 Music, Keyboard Percussion Publications, Edition Svitzer, and Bachovich Music. He culminated his unique compositional voice, performance practice, and recording engineering into 2 solo albums: Whitewater of 2001 and Duality of 2013. His third solo album, Equal Simplicity, is in production now.
Swist’s latest work is a Double Concerto for Vibraphone and Marimba that he also performs as the vibraphone soloist. His music has been performed by the Grand Rapids Symphony, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, The Louisville Orchestra, American Modern Ensemble, Grupo PIAP, YoungArts, and the United States Military Academy. He also presents recitals as a performer/composer who plays both acoustic and electronic music.
Christopher is a symphonic musician as well, performing in the percussion sections of the symphony orchestras in Hartford, Springfield, Waterbury, New Haven, Bridgeport, Ridgefield, and Norwalk. He has been the principal percussionist of the New Britain Symphony Orchestra since 1999 and directs the NBSO’s educational outreach programs and jazz fusion ensembles. Christopher was recently inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame, Class of 2024.
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