Performer Biography

Chris Neiner

Chris Neiner (b. 1994) composes music infused with a rich sense of harmony, clarity of ideas, and energy described as engaging, exciting, and fresh. These qualities originate from his passion to foster collaborative works with instrumentalists. Neiner’s recent collaborations include Playtime, a new work for horn, violin, and piano commissioned by a consortium of collegiate horn professors across the United States. His works have appeared on programs by the Grammy award-winning Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Sinfonia, American Modern Ensemble, Boston New Music Initiative, Copper Street Brass Quintet, Red Hedgehog Trio, Minnesota Symphonic Winds, Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, Rocky Ridge Music Center, Sewanee Summer Music Festival, Cochran Chamber Commissioning Project, faculty of the MacPhail Center for Music, and more.

Beyond his collaborative work as a composer, Neiner is a producer and coordinator for several music events. This summer he served as the associate director, composer-in-residence, and conductor for Music in the Circle, a concert series facilitating collaboration between international artists and students, faculty, and alumni of the Cleveland Institute of Music. Neiner has also gained a reputation as a highly sought-out arranger and copyist, working with organizations such as Reimagining Opera for Kids, the Vietnamese American Society for Creative Arts and Music (VASCAM), the Cleveland Institute of Music, and internationally recognized composer and trumpeter Anthony Plog. Currently, Neiner is pursuing a master’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Keith Fitch.