Christopher Braig

Music Instructor

Bio:
Christopher Braig is the first musician to win a New York Jazz Film Festival award in the category of Best Director and six weeks later debut a CD of experimental, original music at Shapeshifter Lab in Brooklyn. Recent performances include Silvana in Harlem with German/American musicians Peter Knoll and Christian Finger, with Italian vocalist Marilena Paradisi at The Lilypad and Third Life Studio in Boston and with his own group at Cafe Vivace in Cincinnati.

Christopher has been an in-demand saxophone and flute soloist for three decades working for such companies as Carnival Cruise Lines, Bahama Breeze Restaurants, and as a sideman with many touring artists. He was a member of 1992 Walt Disney All American College Band and served from 1987 to 1990 in the 113th United States Army Band. He is a multi-instrumentalist with professional experience performing and recording on more than a dozen instruments.

Braig has recorded three albums of his own compositions and has written more than three hundred works ranging from radio jingles to his “jazz symphony” Your Inner Fish for jazz orchestra which premiered with Christopher as a soloist at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids in 2018. His documentary film Jimmy McGary The Best Jazz You Never Heard is currently available on The BeBop Channel, the only all jazz content media service in the world. He currently works out of his own custom-built hybrid analog/digital recording studio.

Christopher has taught Pre-K through undergraduate students in public and private schools as well as privately. In the 2019 book St. Louis, A Jazz History author Dennis Owsley cited Braig as, “enormously patient, very creative and his approach is collaborative. He’s about getting students to build a creative space and take responsibility for the music coming out of their horn. He can get music out of anybody.” Christopher was an adjunct faculty member at Webster University, St. Louis University, and St. Louis Community College for more than a decade.

In his spare time, he is an avid fly fisherman and enjoys horseback riding with his two daughters ages 13 and 10.

Tutoring Subjects:
Saxophone, Flute, Jazz Improvisation, Composition, Audition Prep

Education/Degree/Certifications:
US Navy School of Music Lifetime Certification in both vocal and instrumental, Missouri
Jazz Performance Major, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
Bachelor of Music Education, Webster University, St. Louis
Master of Music in Jazz Saxophone Performance, Webster University, St. Louis

Cities I Service:
Online