bio.
Christian Kriegeskotte (BFA, MM) is a composer, conductor and concert producer with over 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 Grammy Award winning conductor Robert Page.
Christian started his formal education in 1998 as Carnegie Mellon University’s only performance major in the Highland Bagpipe where he studied with Pipe Majors Alasdair Gillies and James McIntosh, MBE.
Christian's compositions and arrangements have been commissioned and 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, The Juno Orchestra (Zon Eastes, conductor), The Las Cruces Symphony (Ming Luke, conductor), Pittsburgh Symphony trombonist James Nova, Duquesne University Trumpet Studio and Carnegie Mellon University and Jazz Choirs.
His original music is featured in the video arcade game 'Nicktoons Nitro' developed by Raw Thrills Entertainment in collaboration with Nickelodeon Studios.
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 many 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 debut 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.'
As a concert producer, Christian has worked on stage and on tour with EGOT and Pulitzer Prize winner Marvin Hamlisch, conductor Lorin Maazel, Broadway stars Betty Buckley and Renée Elise Goldsberry, Sting, Laufey, Ben Folds, Guster, Celtic Woman, Sofia Carson and others.
In 2023, Christian music directed The Glorious Succession of Frzy in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and EMMY Award winning rapper, Frzy. Throughout the 2024-25 season, Christian provided numerous arrangements for the New York Pops ranging from Gershwin to Motown to the songs of Diane Warren, all of which received performances in New York's Carnegie Hall by today's leading Broadway stars such as Bryan Tyrell Clark, Mykal Kilgore and Valisia LeKae.
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Christian is a voting member of The Recording Academy and serves as a mentor for Grammy U. Since 2013, Christian has been a regular contributor to The American Composers Forum's contemporary music publication I Care If You Listen.