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Photos: Tyrell Thompson
Christian Kriegeskotte (BFA, MM) is a composer and performing arts professional with two decades of experience in film, television, video games, the recording industry and arts administration. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Music in composition from Carnegie Mellon University School of Music. His primary teachers have been Leonardo Balada, Nancy Galbraith, Fabien Levy and conductor Robert Page. Christian started his formal education in 1998 as Carnegie Mellon’s only performance major in the Highland Bagpipe under the tutelage of Pipe Majors Alasdair Gillies and James McIntosh, MBE.
Career highlights include administrative and managerial positions with The Orchard (Director, Digital Integrations), The Pittsburgh Symphony (Senior Manager of Popular Programming), GEMS NY (Artist Representative), and Columbia Artists Management (Associate Producer), where he served on the management team of Broadway star Betty Buckley and the legendary songwriter, pianist and conductor Marvin Hamlisch (an EGOT and Pulitzer Prize recipient). An additional highlight of his time at CAMI was accompanying Maestro Lorin Maazel on tour with the Symphonica Toscanini.
Christian's compositions and arrangements have been performed by the Houston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Opera, American Composers Orchestra, New York Pops, eighth blackbird, The Ethel Quartet, The Parker Quartet, Cuarteto Latinoamericano, The New York Miniaturist Ensemble, IonSound Project, Alia Musica and pianist Eric Clark. Upcoming performances include commissions by the Las Cruces Symphony (Ming Luke, conductor), Duquesne University Trombone Choir and Carnegie Mellon Jazz Choir. His music is also featured in the classic cabinet arcade game Nicktoons Nitro, developed by Raw Thrills Entertainment, a Chicago-based arcade game designer.
An experienced studio orchestra musician, copyist, orchestrator and arranger, Christian received incredible training in the field working for JoAnn Kane Music Service. There, he worked alongside some of Hollywood’s most legendary composers including John Williams, John Debney, Marco Beltrami, Danny Elfman, Alf Clausen and others.
Christian's film and television credits include Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Stephen Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, Robert Rodruiguez’s Sin City, the animated feature film Robots, Idiocracy, Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Skeleton Key, The Longest Yard, The World’s Fastest Indian, The Interpreter, Hide and Seek, Meet the Fockers, The Pacifier, Red Eye, XXX 2: State of the Union, Ice Princess, The Fantastic Four, Elektra and others. Christian additionally prepared music for two seasons of The Simpsons, Family Guy, King of the Hill and for the premiere season of American Dad. Additional credits include orchestral charts for Kanye West, medley scores for the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and charts for Paul Anka's 2005 album Rock Swings (featuring Anka's cover of "Blackhole Sun" by Soundgarden).
In 2023, Christian was music director and composer of "The Glorious Succession of Frzy," a collaboration between the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and EMMY Award winning rapper, Frzy. That same year, Christian accepted an invitation to join the Recording Academy as a voting member and is an active mentor with Grammy U. Since 2013, Christian has been a regular contributor to The American Composers Forum's contemporary music publication I Care If You Listen.
Career highlights include administrative and managerial positions with The Orchard (Director, Digital Integrations), The Pittsburgh Symphony (Senior Manager of Popular Programming), GEMS NY (Artist Representative), and Columbia Artists Management (Associate Producer), where he served on the management team of Broadway star Betty Buckley and the legendary songwriter, pianist and conductor Marvin Hamlisch (an EGOT and Pulitzer Prize recipient). An additional highlight of his time at CAMI was accompanying Maestro Lorin Maazel on tour with the Symphonica Toscanini.
Christian's compositions and arrangements have been performed by the Houston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Opera, American Composers Orchestra, New York Pops, eighth blackbird, The Ethel Quartet, The Parker Quartet, Cuarteto Latinoamericano, The New York Miniaturist Ensemble, IonSound Project, Alia Musica and pianist Eric Clark. Upcoming performances include commissions by the Las Cruces Symphony (Ming Luke, conductor), Duquesne University Trombone Choir and Carnegie Mellon Jazz Choir. His music is also featured in the classic cabinet arcade game Nicktoons Nitro, developed by Raw Thrills Entertainment, a Chicago-based arcade game designer.
An experienced studio orchestra musician, copyist, orchestrator and arranger, Christian received incredible training in the field working for JoAnn Kane Music Service. There, he worked alongside some of Hollywood’s most legendary composers including John Williams, John Debney, Marco Beltrami, Danny Elfman, Alf Clausen and others.
Christian's film and television credits include Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Stephen Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, Robert Rodruiguez’s Sin City, the animated feature film Robots, Idiocracy, Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Skeleton Key, The Longest Yard, The World’s Fastest Indian, The Interpreter, Hide and Seek, Meet the Fockers, The Pacifier, Red Eye, XXX 2: State of the Union, Ice Princess, The Fantastic Four, Elektra and others. Christian additionally prepared music for two seasons of The Simpsons, Family Guy, King of the Hill and for the premiere season of American Dad. Additional credits include orchestral charts for Kanye West, medley scores for the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and charts for Paul Anka's 2005 album Rock Swings (featuring Anka's cover of "Blackhole Sun" by Soundgarden).
In 2023, Christian was music director and composer of "The Glorious Succession of Frzy," a collaboration between the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and EMMY Award winning rapper, Frzy. That same year, Christian accepted an invitation to join the Recording Academy as a voting member and is an active mentor with Grammy U. Since 2013, Christian has been a regular contributor to The American Composers Forum's contemporary music publication I Care If You Listen.
