CHRISTOPHER HULL
Performer - Educator - Clinician
Christopher Hull is a percussionist and drummer from Kitchener, Ontario. He earned his Bachelor of Music in Performance from Wilfrid Laurier University under the instruction of Dave Campion. After studying at WLU, Chris earned his Master of Music in Percussion Performance from the University of Alaska Fairbanks under Dr. Morris Palter and Eric Retterer. He has also studied with percussionists Rich Burrows, Julie Strom, Russell Hartenberger, Gary Tomlin, the TorQ Percussion Quartet, and Balinese gamelan artists I Dewa Made Suparta, I Nyoman Nuka, I Wayan Sarga, I Nyoman Mariyana, and I Komang Astita, among many others.
As an orchestral percussionist, Chris has frequently worked with the National Academy Orchestra of Canada, the Stratford, Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Fairbanks Symphony Orchestras, the Arctic Chamber Orchestra, Spiritus Ensemble, the Talisker Players, Arcady Ensemble, the Grand Philharmonic Choir, the Hamilton Children’s Choir, and more. Outside orchestral playing, he enjoys performing both as a chamber musician and soloist, appearing with groups such as Ensemble 64.8 and Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan in festivals such as Northern Exposure, Open Ears, International Gamelan Festival Munich, and Young Artists Niagara.
In recent years, Chris directed some of his efforts towards studying and performing Balinese gamelan: the traditional percussion music of Bali, Indonesia. In 2013, Chris was a founding member of the Conrad Grebel Gamelan at the University of Waterloo. Having a background in percussion, he took to it naturally, and eventually decided to pursue its study more seriously. Chris moved to Bali in August, 2018, where he spent a year immersing himself in Balinese arts and culture. As a recipient of the Darmasiswa Cultural Scholarship, he attended classes at the Denpasar campus of the Indonesia Arts Institute, while concurrently studying with various teachers outside the institution. During his time there, Chris gave over 100 performances as a member of a number of groups (sanggar): Kebo Iwa, Sekar Swara Kanti, Semarandana Munggu, Narwastu, Tawaketa, and Mekar Bhuana. With these and other groups, he was able to study a variety of styles of music including gong kebyar, selonding, semara pagulingan, and angklung. Besides these, Chris’ main aptitude was for gender wayang, which he studied privately with maestros I Nyoman Nuka (Munggu, Badung), I Wayan Sarga (Sukawati, Gianyar), and I Komang Astita (Denpasar). He became primarily known in Bali for his gender talent, and was frequently invited to perform for religious ceremonies and corporate engagements alike, even appearing on the program “Bali Now” on Bali TV in February, 2019.
An experienced educator, he has taught in a variety of settings, including the K-W Symphony Youth Orchestra programmes, at the KWS “My First Music Lesson" summer camps, the Inter-Provincial Music Camp, and the UAF Summer Music Academy. Chris also teaches privately out of his studio at The Uptown School of Music, as well as at Long & McQuade Stratford and Sight & Sound Studios.