ABOUT
Bio
Christian Ellenwood is a composer, clarinetist, and teacher based near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His compositions have been performed internationally and throughout the United States at major venues such as Carnegie Hall and at international concerts, festivals, and conferences, and his music has been broadcast over several major classical networks, including Chicago’s WFMT.
A passionate clarinetist, he performs as principal clarinetist with the Skylight Opera of Milwaukee, the Woodstock Mozart Festival/Midwest Mozart Festival, and appears regularly with other orchestras and ensembles in the region, including the Milwaukee Ballet, Bel Canto Chamber Orchestra of Milwaukee, Madison Symphony, and Madison Opera. Chamber music collaborations include performances with the Grammy Award-winning Ying Quartet as well as artists such as LA Phil principal cellist Robert DeMaine, violinist Mark Peskanov, and pianist Christopher Taylor.
Committed to fostering and nurturing human growth through the art of music, he proudly serves as Professor of Clarinet at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, where his contributions have received many commendations, including the W. P. Roseman Award, UW-Whitewater’s highest honor for excellence in teaching. He also assists young composers growth through the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra’s John Downey Creation project, sponsored by Present Music.
"prairie horizon" from Meditations for Flute and Violin
Leanne Kelso Leaugue, violin; Robin Fellows, flute
“The sonorous grandeur with which the Wind Ensemble played the World Premiere of Christian K. Ellenwood’s if ever there is tomorrow [in Carnegie Hall] was perhaps the most poignant moment in the entire concert...It is such a beautiful piece…”
—William V. Johnston, Artistic Director
New York Wind Band Festival, 2013
“This work [Fantasy Piece for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano] is one of the most beautiful examples of chamber music written in the early Romantic Period style by a composer living amongst the avant-garde composers of this age…The climax near the end is very effective being arrived at in stringendo, and…is entirely welcomed as it adds to the beauty and charm of the wonderfully attractive work.”
—American Viola Society Journal
Christian Ellenwood[‘s] “Prairie
Spring”... is a gentle piece, full of lyric grace, in a neo-Romantic style, and reflecting a confident command of choral texture.”
—The Well-Tempered Ear