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 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 moved back to 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 maintains a consistent compositional schedule writing for Chicago and New York-based ensembles. Madsen serves as Professor of Jazz Studies at Northwestern University; he has also directed ensembles and taught privately at New Trier, Libertyville, John Hersey, and Elk Grove High Schools.
