CHRISTOPHER HOBSON BIOGRAPHY
Christopher started piano lessons at the age of 4. Aged 8 to 11, he attended the Royal Northern College of Music Junior School, under the tuition of Valerie Eastham. Later Christopher trained at the world famous Chetham’s School of Music, studying classical piano with Peter Lawsonand jazz piano with Les Chisnall.
Since leaving education, Christopher has worked in the dance field, gaining a wealth of experience playing at some of the most respected dance establishments in the UK such as Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Elmhurst School for Dance, Liverpool Institute for Performing Artsand Central School of Ballet, to name but a few. Whilst working at Northern Ballet Theatre (UK), Christopher had the privilege to work with many world renowned choreographers and directors (including Gillian Lynne, Mark Godden, David Nixon) on many productions including Lynne’s ‘A Simple Man’, Nixon’s ‘Nutcracker’, ‘Swan Lake’, ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and also working closely on the revival of Claude-Michel Schönberg’s (Les Miserables, Miss Saigon) first ballet commission, ‘Wuthering Heights’.
Christopher’s musical tastes are very varied from early baroque, classical and romantic through to modern jazz, musical theatre and popular. This wide and varied musical interest along with his understanding of music and dance forms has led him being in high demand as an arranged. His first work for ballet appeared as Sadler’s Wells (London) in 2009, a jazz ballet entitled “As Time Goes By” with choreography by David Nixon.
Christopher also has a keen interest in music for dance education. He often works with establishments & companies, accompanying classes in both Ballet and Contemporary disciplines.
Current projects include Christopher being commissioned by the International Dance Teachers Association (IDTA) to compose and record all the music for their new ballet syllabus, a project with an estimated completion date of summer 2012
Modern Ballet Studio Melodies was created due to high demand for Christopher's music by dance teachers both in the UK and internationally. The ethos and aims of my CDs is to recreate as closely as possible, the feel and experience of being able to dance to a live accompanist. We use many varied melodies from many genres (including original compositions) and hope that the music we arrange and record brings enjoyment, inspiration and interesting variations to your usual choices for ballet repertoire. I sincerely hope you enjoy using my music for your ballet class.
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