Biography

Paul Christopher received his Bachelor of Music Education from the New England Conservatory of Music, and his Master of Music in Cello Performance from the University of Memphis.

From 1981 to 1984, Mr. Christopher was employed as a string teacher in the School District of Greenville County (South Carolina) public schools. Then he became a member of the Memphis and Charlotte symphony orchestras. From 1989 to 2004, he served as Principal Cello of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, Shreveport Opera, and a member of the Premier String Quartet.  Simultaneously, from 1993 to 1999, he also served as Adjunct Instructor of Low Strings at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. Currently, Mr. Christopher performs with the Marshall, Monroe, Rapides, South Arkansas symphony orchestras.

Mr. Christopher performed on numerous recordings as a member of the Nashville String Machine from 2004 to 2005. He recorded with such artists as Faith Hill, Ricky Skaggs, Bruce Springsteen, and George Strait. He also recorded the cello duos of Jacques Offenbach, with seven CD's available on the Human Metronome label.

In 2005, Mr. Christopher joined the string faculty at Northwestern State University of Louisiana where he currently serves as Associate Professor of Violoncello and Music Theory. He has appeared as a clinician, adjudicator, and guest artist throughout Louisiana, as well as, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and internationally in Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, and South Korea.

Mr. Christopher's articles have been published in the American String Teacher, Bass World, the Jacques Offenbach Society Newsletter, and Strings. In 2017, he was awarded the Mildred Hart Bailey Research Award in recognition of his exceptional scholarship as a faculty member at Northwestern State University. He is a member of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, and in 2020 was initiated as a National Arts associate by the Beta Iota Chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota.

In the summers of 1991-2014, Mr. Christopher performed as Assistant Principal Cello with the Peter Britt Festival Orchestra in Jacksonville, Oregon.  From 2014 to 2020, he served as Artistic Director of the Nachtmusik Recital Series, adding the Sugarmill Music Festival in 2106. Both chamber music series were in Alexandria, Louisiana. From 2017 to the present, Mr. Christopher performs with the New Music on the Bayou festival in Monroe, Louisiana. 

 

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