Biography
Dr Christopher D. Lewis BMus MM PGCHE AFNCollM FHEA FRSA HonFGMS
Described by Gramophone Magazine as "pioneering", Christopher D. Lewis is a contemporary harpsichordist and a Naxos Records recording artist. His fascination with the instrument began at a young age, and since then he has made it his mission to bring the modern harpsichord and the music written for it to a global audience, intent on sharing its beauty and versatility far and wide. Over the past century composers and harpsichordists alike have fought to bring the instrument back to modern music, and Christopher is keenly involved in this movement, working to ensure that audiences can once again hear and enjoy the harpsichord in modern music. Christopher is a known authority on the modern harpsichord in both classical contemporary music and in popular culture.
A native of Wales, Christopher relocated to Canada in 2005 to study under Luc Beauséjour and Hank Knox at McGill University in Montréal. Here he earned a Bachelor of Music degree before next completing his Masters of Music degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under Corey Jamason. Both degrees had a focus on contemporary music composed for the harpsichord. He returned to the U.K. ten years later, and completed a Ph.D at the University of Southampton, in a research project jointly sponsored by the Arts and Humanities Research Council/National Trust. The project was titled 'The Making of the Modern Harpsichord' and focussed on the contemporary British revival of the instrument and was supervised by Professors Laurie Stras and Jeanice Brooks. Additional qualifications include a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (PGCHE), which he achieved with work centred around developing strategies to help widen participation and inclusion within arts higher education courses. As an academic, he is based at the University of Chester as a Lecturer in Music, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Authority. Other fellowships include a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, an Associate Fellow of the National College of Music and Art, and an Honorary Fellow of The Guild of Musicians and Singers.
He has released four full-length albums with Naxos Records, featuring both solo and orchestral arrangements. Recordings include a collection of modern works for the harpsichord, including compositions by Philip Glass, Vincent Persichetti, and Francis Poulenc. He has performed internationally including in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States and is often engaged to speak on modern harpsichord music and its uses, as well as the performers that revived the instrument through the 20th century and into the 21st. In 2019 he presented a TED talk titled 'What does the Future hold for Classical Music?', which can be viewed below.
In his spare time, Christopher enjoys aviation, British sitcoms, and is one of only a handful of people on the planet to have piloted a winged sports submarine!
Dr Christopher D. Lewis BMus MM PGCHE AFNCollM FHEA FRSA HonFGMS
Described by Gramophone Magazine as "pioneering", Christopher D. Lewis is a contemporary harpsichordist and a Naxos Records recording artist. His fascination with the instrument began at a young age, and since then he has made it his mission to bring the modern harpsichord and the music written for it to a global audience, intent on sharing its beauty and versatility far and wide. Over the past century composers and harpsichordists alike have fought to bring the instrument back to modern music, and Christopher is keenly involved in this movement, working to ensure that audiences can once again hear and enjoy the harpsichord in modern music. Christopher is a known authority on the modern harpsichord in both classical contemporary music and in popular culture.
A native of Wales, Christopher relocated to Canada in 2005 to study under Luc Beauséjour and Hank Knox at McGill University in Montréal. Here he earned a Bachelor of Music degree before next completing his Masters of Music degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under Corey Jamason. Both degrees had a focus on contemporary music composed for the harpsichord. He returned to the U.K. ten years later, and completed a Ph.D at the University of Southampton, in a research project jointly sponsored by the Arts and Humanities Research Council/National Trust. The project was titled 'The Making of the Modern Harpsichord' and focussed on the contemporary British revival of the instrument and was supervised by Professors Laurie Stras and Jeanice Brooks. Additional qualifications include a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (PGCHE), which he achieved with work centred around developing strategies to help widen participation and inclusion within arts higher education courses. As an academic, he is based at the University of Chester as a Lecturer in Music, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Authority. Other fellowships include a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, an Associate Fellow of the National College of Music and Art, and an Honorary Fellow of The Guild of Musicians and Singers.
He has released four full-length albums with Naxos Records, featuring both solo and orchestral arrangements. Recordings include a collection of modern works for the harpsichord, including compositions by Philip Glass, Vincent Persichetti, and Francis Poulenc. He has performed internationally including in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States and is often engaged to speak on modern harpsichord music and its uses, as well as the performers that revived the instrument through the 20th century and into the 21st. In 2019 he presented a TED talk titled 'What does the Future hold for Classical Music?', which can be viewed below.
In his spare time, Christopher enjoys aviation, British sitcoms, and is one of only a handful of people on the planet to have piloted a winged sports submarine!