Christopher Schoelen - guitar

Dr. Christopher Schoelen is a seasoned performer and an award-winning guitarist. In 2019 he was awarded his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in classical guitar performance from the University of South Carolina and was also a three-times prize-winner of the school's Creativity in Music competition. He received a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied with the world-renowned guitarist, Eliot Fisk. As a seasoned performer, he has performed in prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall in N.Y., has been a judge and given master classes in guitar festivals, and has performed internationally in various countries including Spain and Italy. He has released two solo albums as well as a recent holiday album with his duo, Deux Saisons, titled Winter's Light. Currently, Christopher maintains a robust private lesson studio and teaches guitar classes at Heidelberg University.

Find more at https://christopherschoelen.com/repertoire/

Concert Dates

  • August 3rd - 8:00 PM EDT (UTC-4) Tyler Loftis Studio, NYC

15 one-minute selections for Christopher Schoelen

  • A childhood memory

    Nantenaina Andriamorasata

    A few guitar notes that sometimes awaken childhood memories.

    Nantenaina Andriamorasata is a music composer, songwriter, and performer based in Antananarivo, Madagascar.

  • A Moment of Contemplation

    Le Tuan Hung

    A moment of contemplation is a musical reflection on the quiet, non-thinking moments that we sometimes experience in our life. During those moments, life seems to stand still in a peaceful wholeness.

    Le Tuan Hung is a scholar and composer-performer whose works for various Western and non-Western instruments or electronics have been featured in various countries.

  • Aire de Sur

    Rafael de Rioja

    In this short piece I try to bring out the expressiveness of the guitar, inspired by the land of Andalusia and collecting elements of Flamenco music.

    Rafael de Rioja (1998) graduated in Composition at the "Manuel Castillo" Music Conservatory of Seville. Young and restless for knowledge, he completes his training through courses and congresses such as: “Algorithmic Composition: constructive and declarative model” by Fabio de Sanctis de Benedictis; International Composition Course of Villafranca del Bierzo.

  • Bell Song

    Tim Bowman

    This short piece began life some years ago as a pattern for playing alternating adjacent strings, facilitating a very brisk pace. Despite this, it is a challenge to meet the tempo required to perform the piece in less than one minute.

    Tim was born in the UK but from a young age was raised in Aotearoa New Zealand. With a life long interest in music, the first instrument he was drawn to was the bagpipes, playing in a pipe band until the guitar and saxophone took precedent.

  • Blue Morpho

    David Edgar Walther

    Blue Morpho is a beautiful species of butterfly that inspired this piece. It was writen in February of 2024, and is dedicated to guitarist, Christopher Schoelen.

    AD: Acting Singers Project. Juilliard (BA). MA. Trenton State (MA). Boston University. New England/Boston Conservatories. Persichetti, Diamond, Luening, delTredici, Oren Brown, Jerome Hines, Jeffrey Gall. Boston Metro Opera. Copley Square Ballet. Juilliard Orchestras. Kinetic Dance, Moscow. King’s Chapel. Marblehead Ballet. M.I.T.. Mobius. OutLook. M.I.T.. Opera on TapVienna. AGO: Schirmer

  • Brazilian Landscapes II

    Vinícius Mello do Nascimento

    Choro or Chorinho is a Brazilian musical genre typical of Rio de Janeiro - Brazil. In this work I use the Spanish Octatonic scale and many passing modulations, seeking colors and textures in an exotic and unusual scale in Choro

    Vinícius Mello do Nascimento graduated in Composition at the Brazilian Conservatory of Music (CBM). He is currently studying for a Bachelor's degree in Guitar at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). In 2014 he was a finalist in the 1st Composition Competition for Symphonic Band at the Tatuí Conservatory.

  • Entr'acte

    Anna Vriend

    Entr'acte is dedicated to Christopher Schoelen on Fifteen Minutes of Fame. It is an attempt to present very briefly the characteristic sound of a classical guitar.

    Anna Vriend won third prize in the VIII International Composition Competition Opus Ignotum. Her works for bass clarinet solo and reed quintet respectively have been published by Alea Publishing. Several of her pieces for various instruments have been performed on Fifteen Minutes of Fame recently.

  • Kasturi

    Akmal Parwez

    'Kasturi' in Punjabi means 'Musk' -- the enigmatic and alluring fragrance, which travelled from its ancient roots in the exotic East to the West and beyond via the Silk Road.

    While studying electronics in Tokyo, composer-vocalist Akmal Parwez studied composition with Yasushi Akutagawa and Klaus Pringsheim. After completing his university studies (BE, ME), he felt compelled to devote his life to music. In the U.S. he studied composition with Florence Jolley, Leo Kraft and Samuel Adler(MA, Queens College; PhD, Eastman).

  • Mirage

    Michael Knopf

    Mirage is a brief, wistful sound poem. As with an elusive haziness or foggy image, it slides through several melodic expressions, securely observed but then hastily sliding, then revealing aural images of the "other". Reoccurence. Deja vu... Passing scenes resonant but surely vanishing.

    Guitarist/Composer Michael Knopf has pursued eclecticism as a personal stamp in creativity. With over 400 works for guitar and many pieces for choir, cello, ensemble, and orchestra, his music reveals a global regard as to style, genre and expression.

  • Nocturne

    Edward Ruchalski

    Nocturne for solo guitar was composed for and dedicated to Christopher Schoelen.

    Edward Ruchalski’s compositions have been performed at Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, MASS MoCA, Symphony Space on Broadway, Festival of Miami and elsewhere. His compositions have been performed by the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Stephen Porter, Buffalo Guitar Quartet, Shiau-uen Ding, Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Fuze Trio and others.

  • playtime

    Mickael Luis

    Playtime: a simple but powerful image of a playground full of children going off in all directions and doing as many things as possible in a short space of time. This piece is divided into two parts: the first for hammer-on and pull-off, the second rhythmic.

    Mickael Luis (born 1992) is a Swiss-Portuguese guitarist and composer. He has a bachelor's degree and two master's degrees in classical guitar in Switzerland, Netherland and Belgium. During his studies, he attended masterclasses with several international guitarists. Between 2019 and 2023, he won several prizes in international composition competitions.

  • Scurryfunge

    Mark Langford

    Scurryfunge: to hastily tidy the house when informed that unexpected company will be arriving shortly. This work is specifically written for Christopher Schoelen.

    I completed my degree in composition at Victoria University, New Zealand. I then continued my studies at the Institute of Sonology in Utrecht, The Netherlands. I have received commissions from various organisations and have had my music performed in New Zealand and overseas.

  • Set Limitations

    Josh Schmidt

    Within a 60 second time span, the goal was to limit the compositional material even further, save for a few flourishes.

    Josh Schmidt is a composer, sound designer, producer and musician working in film and theatre. He is based in Milwaukee. With Joshua Oppenheimer’s musical The End (2024) he makes his feature film debut as composer and orchestrator of all the songs and incidental music.

  • The Call of the Void

    Tom Torrisi

    The Call of the Void; a sudden, unexplainable urge to leap into the abyss when standing upon a high ledge, such as a canyon or rooftop. The opening section of the piece represents the “call” - distant, vast, and mysterious - while the subsequent section represents the exhilarating descent into

    Tom Torrisi is a guitarist and composer based in Buffalo, NY. He holds a DMA in classical guitar from the Eastman School of Music. His credits as performer and composer include the 21st Century Guitar Festival, June in Buffalo, zFestival, the College Music Society, and the Buffalo International Guitar Festival.

  • Todos llevan una mochila

    Juan María Solare

    Todos llevan una mochila (Everyone carries a rucksack/backpack) should be understood metaphorically: everyone carries a burden on their back, an invisible weight that others do not see. Existential fatigue, fears, traumas, abuse, losses, isolation, or other loads. Musically, this burden is symbolized by the repeated note sounding in the background.

    Juan María Solare, born 1966 in Argentina, works in Germany as composer, pianist, and teaching at the University of Bremen. His music has been performed in five continents and received over 25 million streams in Spotify. Over 30 CDs of different performers include music by him. http://www.JuanMariaSolare.com