Chris Rice - Chamber Department Head

Chris Rice is an accomplished performer and teacher on both piano and cello. Giving concerts with his brother, Johnny, they have performed extensively in the U.S. from Carnegie Hall to Disneyland in the widest range of settings, including concert halls, churches, schools and house concerts. In Europe, he has performed in Warsaw (as a featured artists at the 2014 World Music Day celebration), Vienna, Salzburg and Munich. His Carnegie Hall debut was awarded after being named the winner of the 2013 Corpus Christi International Chopin Piano Competition. He has soloed with the Phoenix Symphony, Mesa Symphony and the Four Seasons Orchestra.

Chris has a flourishing private studio, and his students have been winners and awarded high marks in competitions and evaluations in Arizona. He is in demand as a guest teacher giving master classes, working with students in classroom settings, and presenting workshops to students in schools and summer music camps.

He is currently working on many projects that aim to make classical music more accessible and relatable through performance, teaching, recordings and social media, especially to younger audiences and students. His passion is in giving people a chance to connect with not just the music, but the story of the music and the shared humanity that the arts express.