A composer/sound artist, educator, and radio host, Chris Cresswell is a curious musician whose work betrays his affection for sonic wanderlust. With an ear that incorporates all sorts of sounds, from pitch set theory and baroque counterpoint, to field recordings and a singer/songwriter at an open mic night, Cresswell’s music has been praised for its “unworldly textures” (Vital Weekly) and '“textural variety” (Gramophone) that “… blur the boundaries between industrial and organic, soothing and suspenseful, and introspective and anxious” (International Clarinet Association), creating “a truly immersive, dreamlike atmosphere” (PopMatters). He has shared the stage with a Pulitzer Prize winning poet and a Top 40 country star (two different occasions) and his music has been heard in coffee shops, concert halls, and venues around the world, from chic Brooklyn spots like Areté Venue and Gallery, and The Firehouse Space, to Birmingham, England's renowned Symphony Hall and the Paleis voor Schone Kunsten in Brussels.
An active educator, Cresswell’s educational philosophy is to meet students where they are at and elevate them from there. He currently works as an adjunct lecturer at Onondaga Community College, where he teaches several courses and maintains a composition studio. An exceptional teaching artist, Cresswell has worked in Syracuse City Schools, with Red House Arts Center, CNY Jazz Central, and a variety of other institutions. In 2014 he co-founded and built the recording studio at Lake of the Woods and Greenwoods Summer Camp. This work led him to start the One Mic Project, a songwriting and recording project that believes that “one mic can amplify a voice, a voice can tell a story, and a story can change the world.” Through Great Lakes Guitar Society, One Mic Project has received support from Arts in Corrections NYS, a regrant program of NYSCA, facilitated by Wave Farm with the support of NYS DOCCS.
Previously, Cresswell taught composition at the Birmingham Junior Conservatoire, ran the Young Composers Project (UK), Young Composers Corner (US), and has occasionally served an adjunct professor at Le Moyne College and Syracuse University. His passion for youth development led him to work for Fiver Children’s Foundation, a non profit that provides experiences that challenge students and build nurturing relationships so that youth from systemically under-resourced communities in New York can create their own positive futures.
Cresswell graduated from Syracuse University and the Birmingham Conservatoire. When not doing musical things, he can be found running the streets and trails of Central New York, watching St. Louis Cardinals baseball or Syracuse basketball, and spending time with his wife Amber and their adorable kitty, Eloise.