Chris Madsen
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Tenor saxophonist, composer, and Northwestern University Jazz Faculty member Christopher Madsen is Director of MYA’s Big Band, Jazz Orchestra, and also teaches courses in music theory and composition. Madsen is an in-demand figure in both the Chicago and New York jazz scenes, actively performing, writing, and teaching in multiple contexts and venues.
After graduating from DePaul University in Chicago with a B.M. in Jazz Studies and studying with the likes of Mark Colby, Tom Matta and Dr. Bob Lark, Madsen auditioned for the then-relatively new Juilliard Jazz Studies program. He was accepted to the program in 2003 and moved to New York City to complete this two-year post-bachelor’s program. Madsen spent three years in New York, performing with and writing for such jazz masters as Wynton Marsalis, Victor Goines, Loren Schoenberg, Wycliffe Gordon, Kenny Washington, Jon Gordon, and many others.
After graduating from Juilliard in 2005, Madsen made the decision to move back to his homeland of Chicago in 2006 and has since been artistically involved with much of the local talent, including the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, Rob Parton’s Jazztech Big Band, and others, and continues to write for New York-based ensembles. Madsen has an impressive discography and can be heard on countless independent releases as well as nationally-available recordings.
Madsen is a published composer with Walrus Music Publishing. He was honored to have his arrangement of the song “Never Let Me Go” recorded by Phil Woods and the DePaul Jazz Ensemble released in 2007 to rave reviews. He maintains a consistent compositional schedule writing for Chicago- and New York-based ensembles such as Rob Parton’s Jazztech Big Band, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, and the Jazz Museum in Harlem All-Stars. In 2005, the John Hersey High School Jazz Ensemble from Arlington Heights, IL, performed Madsen’s arrangement of “Never Will I Marry” in the final concert stage of the Rolling Meadows jazz festival and came away as Grand Champion.
Madsen serves as Professor of Jazz Studies at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, and is responsible for teaching Jazz Improvisation, Jazz Composition, and directing ensembles, and is assistant director of the Northwestern University Jazz Orchestra. He has directed ensembles at New Trier, Libertyville, John Hersey, and Elk Grove High Schools, and taught privately at those and other institutions.
