Faculty Bio: Christopher Cresswell

A composer, singer/songwriter, educator, guitarist, and sound artist, Chris Cresswell is a curious musician whose work betrays his affection for sonic wanderlust. With an ear that incorporates all sorts of sounds, from field recordings to a singer/songwriter at an open mic night, Cresswell’s music has been praised for its '“textural variety” (Gramophone) that “… blurs 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, Englands’s renown Symphony Hall and the Paleis voor Schone Kunsten in Brussels.

Cresswell is currently an adjunct lecturer in the Music Department at Onondaga Community College, where he teaches courses on Music Appreciation, Music Business, Music Technology, Music of the African Diaspora, and has a composition studio. He is also an adjunct professor in the Communication and Film Studies department at Le Moyne College, where he teaches a course on audio production.

In addition to these creative and educational roles, Cresswell has worked as an arts administrator at Boosey & Hawkes, Black Tea Music, and has served on the board of directors for Society for New Music and Full of Noises (UK). He currently serves on the board of Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music and is an occasional fill in host on WCNY-FM, Central New York’s Classical music station. Grammophone Magazine once referred to him as an "uncredited composer." 

Outside of music, Chris is an avid St. Louis Cardnials fan, enjoys running, drinking good coffee, and hanging out with his wife and their cat, Eloise, who is affectionately known as “the floof.”