Audition Cafe

Introduction

Christopher Chlumsky, both a double and electric bassist began his music studies at the age of 8 in the town of Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania.  Immediately embracing the large instrument, he began to win not only competitions but selected as one of the youngest bassists to win a position with the Southeastern District Conference at the age of 13.  While in early high school, he was also selected into a small group of highly gifted musicians to perform recitals for an artistic organization supporting local arts and education.  And still only at the age of 15, won a bass section position with the York Symphony Orchestra and later a top prize concerto competition with the same organization.  Chris was the only musician selected for the Congress of Strings in Greely, CO that was sponsored by the York Symphony Orchestra in his final year of high school.

Chris continued to win full scholarships to every institution he auditioned for and ultimately studied at the Curtis Institute under the tutelage of the late Roger Scott, former principal bassist of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra.   During Chris’s Conservatory tenure he participated in exclusive local and international music festivals such as the National Orchestral Institute, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany and Rencontres Musicales d’Evian of France which Mstislav Rostropovich was the artistic director at that time and described as one of the greatest meeting places for chamber and instrumentalist of the international scene.   While at Curtis, Chris also was continuously invited to play with the New World Symphony Orchestra in Miami Beach, Florida under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas.

Upon graduation, Chris had won associate principal position of the Orquestra Sinfonica de Galicia of La Coruna, Spain.  After remaining for 2 years, Chris returned to the US to study with Robert Kesselman of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra at the Peabody Conservatory of Music.  While at Peabody, Chris had won permanent positions with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra and Toledo Symphony Orchestra.  While living in Toledo, OH, Chris was on the substitution list of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra while also touring with the Heifetz and Classical Band ensemble performing across the United States and Canada as a chamber musician and soloist.  Other orchestras Chris previously performed with was the Wolf Trap Orchestra for opera and special events, Washington National Opera, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Concert Artists of Baltimore, Opera Vivente of Baltimore, Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Ensemble of DC, The Haddonfield Symphony Orchestra, The Bridgeton Symphony Orchestra and the Arlington Symphony Orchestra.  Other notable pop artists that Chris has shared the stage with have been Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Josh Groban, Diana Krall, Andrea Boccelli, The Eagles, Roger Daltrey of The Who, Lionel Hampton and many more.

Currently Chris is the principal bassist of the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra as well as the Chairman of their player’s committee representing AFM Local 40-543.  He also is a member of the Maryland Lyric Opera Orchestra and The National Philharmonic Orchestra while also performing with regional theaters such as Signature Theater, Arena Stage, Round House Theater, Olney Theater, Studio Theater, Creative Cauldron, ArtsCentric and The Kennedy Center.  Chris is also continuously invited to perform with the New Orchestra of Washington, the Apollo Orchestra, Washington Concert Opera, Baltimore Choral Arts Society and The American Pops.

As a teacher of both double and electric bass, Chris has an active private studio always open to new students.  Chris also has a diverse background in financial engineering, backend coding, trading violation analysis, securities trading and project management while enjoying weightlifting, biking, tennis and golfing.