film composer
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...
, sound designer and saxophonist. He studied music at the
Berlin University of the Arts
The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the second largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research uni ...
, the
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...
in London and at
Rutgers University
Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, United States.
He has written film scores for feature films, documentaries, TV drama and animated films Whistle (2002) directed by
Duncan Jones
Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones (born 30 May 1971) is a British film director, film producer and screenwriter. He directed the films ''Moon'' (2009), ''Source Code'' (2011), '' Warcraft'' (2016), and '' Mute'' (2018). For ''Moon'', he won the BAFT ...
, was shown at festivals around the world, including several broadcasts on
Film Four
Film4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, dedicated to broadcasting films. The standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat ...
. In 2004, he refined his audio-post production skills under the leadership of Frank Verderosa at Planet V,
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Working with digital artist and multimedia producer Helena Bulaja resulted in composing and recording the score for the fairytale ''Regoch'' (2006), which can be heard on the release of "Croatian Tales of Long Ago, Part Two" and collaborating in Helena Bulaja's latest project about Nikola Tesla, which features
Laurie Anderson
Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson (born June 5, 1947) is an American avant-garde artist, musician and filmmaker whose work encompasses performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and sculpting,Amirkhanian, Cha ...
and
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance Gilliam ( ; born 22 November 1940) is an American-British filmmaker, comedian, collage film, collage animator, and actor. He gained stardom as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe alongside John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Pa ...
amongst other artists. Christian composed the score for director Marc Meyer's film ''Sunday, in August'', which was broadcast on
, and won the Minister of Art Promotion Prize at the Film Festival in Dresden in 2005. The same year he teamed up with New York-based director Matthew Timms, sound designing and scoring the film ''How I know you'' (2005). Working at
Park Road Post
Park Road Post Production is an international film and television post-production facility located in Miramar, a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. Built out of the state-owned National Film Unit (NFU), the new facility opened upon completion ...
as an editor in 2006, Christian contributed also a string quartet piece for Academy Award nominee,
Taika Waititi
Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. Known for quirky comedy films and expanding his career as a voice actor and producer on numerous projects, he ...
's feature film " Eagle vs. Shark" (2007) alongside the original soundtrack by the Phoenix Foundation. In 2007 he composed the score for Marc Meyer's feature film debut ' (2007) and the music for
Paul Swadel
Paul Regan Swadel (23 October 1968 – 18 March 2016) was a New Zealand film director and producer.
Life and career
Swadel nurtured a filmmaking partnership with James Cunningham that spanned fifteen years and four globally successful short ...
's TV One New Zealand documentary "The Big Picture" (2007) in collaboration with Dave Whitehead and Riki Gooch, which won "Best Original Score" at the
Qantas Television Awards
New Zealand film and television awards have gone by many different names and have been organised by different industry groups. As of 2017, New Zealand has relaunched a standalone New Zealand Television Awards after a five-year hiatus. The film awa ...
2008. The same year, he completed the score for Brigitte Bertele's award winning feature film "Nacht Vor Augen"(2008) which premiered on the 58th
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
2008 and one episode of the classic German crime show "
Tatort
("Crime Scene") is a German-language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with 30 feature-length episodes per year, making it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by the German public-se ...
", directed by Didi Danquart. Christian wrote the film music to Brigitte Bertele's second feature film ' (2011) which won for "best director" at the
Montreal World Film Festival
The Montreal World Film Festival (), commonly abbreviated MWFF in English or FFM in French, was an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1977 to 2019.I See Tanja" (2010) which won in the category "Checkers" at th Zagreb Film Festival 2010 In 2011 he scored 4 episodes of the German children's TV series "
Löwenzahn
''Löwenzahn'' (''Dandelion'') is a children's television series produced and aired by German public broadcaster ZDF on German television. Originally conceived and hosted by Peter Lustig, the first episode aired on 7 January 1979, then titled '' ...
" and the documentary "Family Meals" by Dana Budisavljević.
As a saxophone player, Christian has performed with the
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world.
Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922†...
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Wellington, New Zealand. The national orchestra of New Zealand, the NZSO is an autonomous Crown entity owned by the New Zealand Government, per the New Zealand Symphony ...
,
Auckland Philharmonia
The Auckland Philharmonia (formerly Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, APO) is a symphony orchestra based in Auckland, New Zealand. Its principal concert venue is the Auckland Town Hall, and it is also the accompanying ensemble for Auckland stage ...
DM Stith
David Michael Stith is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who released his first album ''Heavy Ghost'' in 2009 on the Asthmatic Kitty label. He currently resides in Rochester, New York.
Stith comes from a musical family: his fathe ...
,
Antony and the Johnsons
Anohni and the Johnsons (previously known as Antony and the Johnsons) is a music ensemble originally based in New York City that presents the work of English singer-songwriter Anohni and her collaborators. The band released its self-titled de ...
and the artist collectiv Edison Woods amongst others. He performed with
Michael Nyman
Michael Laurence Nyman, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 23 March 1944) is an English composer, pianist, libretto, librettist, musicologist, and filmmaker. He is known for numerous film soundtrack, scores (many written during his lengthy ...
at the Berlin Film Festival 2000 where he premiered the film music for
's ''Ballete Mechanique'' (1924). In 2005 he recorded the score for 3:20, written for solo saxophone by Gerald Busby, best known for his soundtrack of
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...
's ''
3 Women
''3 Women'' is a 1977 American psychological drama film written, produced and directed by Robert Altman and starring Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek and Janice Rule. Set in a dusty California desert town, it depicts the increasingly bizarre rela ...
''. After the collaboration, Gerald dedicated Speak for Christian, that he premiered in
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
.
Awards
*
Qantas Television Awards
New Zealand film and television awards have gone by many different names and have been organised by different industry groups. As of 2017, New Zealand has relaunched a standalone New Zealand Television Awards after a five-year hiatus. The film awa ...
2008 for Best Original Music in General Television
Vimeo
Vimeo ( ) is an American Online video platform, video hosting, sharing, and services provider founded in 2004 and headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices and operates on a ...