Christopher Bush

Dr. Christopher Bush has a multifaceted career as a performer, educator, and arts administrator. Earning his BM and MM at the New England Conservatory of Music and his PhD at New York University, Christopher has been all over the world as an evangelist for music, through direct experience, pedagogical insight, and strategic thinking.​

Christopher has devoted more than 30 years to teaching students of all ages. Currently a member of the faculty at Mannes Prep, he previously spent 16 years on the faculty at New York University and two years teaching for the New England Conservatory's Expanded Education Division. At NYU, Dr. Bush taught a studio of 15 performance and Music Educator major clarinetists, directed the NYU Composers Ensemble, coached chamber music, and taught history and analysis courses. He has also been on the faculties of the Boston Community Music Center, the Chestnut Hill School of Music, the Brimmer and May School, the Lincoln Public Schools, the Northampton Community Music Center, the Luzerne Music Center, and Fidelity Mutual’s Future Stages Project. Christopher has also maintained a private studio of clarinetists, whom he teaches both in person and online.

Mr. Bush has held the position of Principal Clarinet with the Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra for more than 20 years. Previously Principal Clarinet with the Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra and Boston Civic Symphony, Christopher has also performed with the Boston Philharmonic, Albany Symphony, New York String Orchestra, Indian Hill Symphony, Cape Cod Symphony, Nashua Symphony, Granite State Opera, Granite State Symphony, New England Philharmonic, Westchester Chamber Symphony, DiCapo Opera, Seoul Philharmonic, West Point Band, Camerata New York, New York Concert Artists Orchestra, New Bedford Symphony, Harlem Chamber Players, Quintet of the Americas, and the North Country Chamber Players. Christopher has also performed as a soloist with the Glens Falls Symphony, Slobozhansky Orchestra (Ukraine),  Metro Chamber Orchestra, New England Conservatory Symphony, Society of Musical Arts Orchestra, Callithumpian Consort, and the New York University Symphony Orchestra. He was also clarinetist and co-founder of Summerland Music Society, a chamber music series in upstate New York.  

Mr. Bush has performed at venues and festivals throughout the world, including Les Flaneries Musicales d’Ete in Reims, France, Open Air Klassik Hoppegarten in Berlin, London New Winds Festival (UK), Asian Composers League in Seoul, Ithaca New Music Collective, New School Concert Series, Harvard Group For New Music, Boston’s New Gallery Concert Series, NEC’s Keller Jazz Series, the Boston New Arts Initiative, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Young Artists Showcase, and New London’s Summer Music Series in New Hampshire. In Boston’s Jordan Hall, he has taken part in the Composer’s Series, Enchanted Circle Series, Tuesday New Music Series, and annual Festival Weeks. Additionally, Christopher has performed in New York’s Galapagos Art Space, The Tank, Spectrum, Alice Tully Hall, and Carnegie Hall.  

Mr. Bush has worked with composers Gunther Schuller, Steve Reich, Frederic Rzewski, Lee Hyla, Alvin Lucier, Michael Finnissy, Joan Tower, Pozzi Escot, Lowell Liebermann, Paul Elwood, Walter Zimmermann, John Heiss, Tamar Diesendruck, and Malcolm Peyton on performances of their own music. With the Glens Falls Symphony, Christopher commissioned and premiered Michael Gandolfi’s Anthem for solo clarinet and string orchestra.  He also commissioned works from composers  Emiliano Pardo Tristan, Yumi Hara Cawkwell, Curtis Hughes, Izzi Ramkissoon, Pozzi Escot, and Lawrence Dillon. Lawrence Moss's Shadowplay  and Israeli composer Guy Barash’s Talkback for Clarinet and Electronics were also written for Mr. Bush.

Christopher’s performances have been broadcast on WGBH (Boston) and KBS (Korea) radio stations. On television, Christopher has performed on the PBS special A Taste of Chanukah and Korea’s MBC, SBS, KBS, and Arirang networks. A featured soloist on the soundtrack to the Huntington Theatre’s production of Dead End, Christopher has also recorded for Naxos, Albany, Innova, and Mode record companies.

Dr. Bush is also an arts administrator who operates under the assumption that strategic thinking can improve the experiences of students, faculty, and audiences. He has served New York University as the Assistant Director of Woodwind Studies and Academic Advisor for more than 16 programs of study serving hundreds of students. While at the New England Conservatory as the Director of Adult Education and Summer Programs, Christopher launched their new educational initiative for adult learners, growing it into a program serving more than 300 students and earning more than half a million dollars in annual tuition revenue by the end of its second year. He also helped design and launch several new summer programs for the school, including its Early Music Institute, Jazz Lab: Workshop for Adults, Summer Vocal Institute, and the Summer Chamber Music: Young Artists Program. For 10 years, Christopher also served as Executive Director of the Summerland Music Society, a chamber music series that he also co-founded.

Welcome to an online clarinet studio designed to meet young musicians exactly where they are. I combine proven world-class musical training with a high-energy, fun, and deeply engaging learning environment! Whether your student is a total beginner assembling the clarinet for the very first time or an advanced teen prepping for elite conservatory auditions, my goal is to make the rewarding journey of mastering an instrument an adventure. For our younger and developing players, we focus on building a joyful, supportive foundation, turning core mechanics like an efficient embouchure, clean articulation, and music literacy into exciting, interactive breakthroughs. For our older and serious teens, we shift into a dynamic pre-professional track that tackles advanced technique, diverse modern repertoire, and audition strategies with the perfect mix of high standards and motivational encouragement.

Across all ages and levels, our weekly lessons are highly collaborative, informal, and rooted in deep mutual respect. Students will also learn to use digital tools like tuners, metronomes, and self-recording apps to turn their at-home practice sessions into an empowering, self-assessing game. To ensure a truly well-rounded and inspiring musical education, we dive beyond standard notes on a page to explore music history, theory, reed preparation, and equipment selection in ways that are always lively and accessible.

No matter your child’s current playing level, my custom-tailored approach is designed to eliminate performance anxiety and build rock-solid stage confidence. From mastering a favorite pop tune or school band piece to earning acceptance into world-class summer festivals and music conservatories, this studio provides the inspiration, structure, and technological seamlessness young clarinetists need to thrive and love every minute of their musical chapter.