Spanning styles and genres, my compositions defy easy categorization. I draw inspiration from and thrive on collaboration with fellow artists in various disciplines. Visual art from the Montclair Art Museum inspired two commissions, and my score for the play Gilgamesh Variations was produced at Bushwick Starr in Brooklyn. Mourning Madrid, a work for orchestra and live locomotive, was performed by the Atlantic Chamber Orchestra and the Long Island Railroad near the Bridgehampton Train Station.
I have had compositions performed throughout the United States, in the UK, EU, and Asia, including at the Niente Forte Festival ( New Orleans, Louisiana), soundOn Festival (La Jolla, California), New Music Gathering (Bowling Green, Ohio), and the LaVerna International Organ Festival (La Verna, Italy). My organ works have been performed at prestigious venues such as St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Trinity Church Wall Street, Harvard Memorial Church, and Princeton Chapel. They are published by Zimbel, and GIA has published some of my choral music. I have recordings released on Tundra, New Focus, and Westminster Records
From 2004-2025, I taught at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, where I was Associate Professor of Music Composition, History and Theory. I have published articles in Perspectives of New Music, Open Space, Tempo, and Intégral, and am editor at Sequenza 21. My article on narrativity in Carter’s Dialogues was presented at IRCAM in Paris on the composer’s 100th birthday. It appears in Homage a Elliott Carter, a proceedings volume published by Editions Delatour.
I studied at The Juilliard School (B.M. in Voice Performance), Boston University (M.M. in Music Composition), and Rutgers University (Ph.D. in Music), and received additional training at the Aspen Music Festival, Chautauqua, June in Buffalo, and Music Academy of the West.
Christian B. Carey - Composer, educator, writer, and performer 