Kristofer Hill
Encyclopedia
Kristofer Thomas Hill is an American Musician
, Composer
, Singer-Songwriter
, Guitarist
, Philosopher, Pianist
, and multi Percussionist.
Raised in Maplewood, New Jersey
, Kristofer began singing & piano lessons at the age of four. Other instruments followed such as the clarinet
, bassoon
, bass
, and drums
, and at the age of thirteen the guitar
.
Inspired by a diverse range of music from Mozart to Hendrix
. Kristofer began his quest for creating and performing all styles of music from flamenco
, to Hip Hop
, to jazz
, to classical
. He cites performing at Woodstock
, on Max Yasgurs farm in 1997 with the Buddy Miles
band, in the fabled barn in which such greats as The Who
and Jimi Hendrix had played, as the turning point in his life as a musician.
After graduating from Columbia High School
at age seventeen, Kris enrolled at Arizona State University
, where he began active work as a composer, guitarist, percussionist, pianist, and a dance accompanist for modern dance
and ballet
. Kris began performing and collaborating with jazz combos, rock bands, hip-hop groups, flamenco ensembles, performance artists, choreographers, visual artists, and educators, helping to mould his approach to sound, performance, and music education.
At the ASU West's Interdisciplinary arts and multimedia program Kris studied orchestration and analog & digital recording concepts with Richard Lehrman and Daniel Lentz
, with Arthur Sabatini in film
, modernism
, Joseph Campbell
, futurism
, bahaus, dada
and post-modernism, and attended seminal workshops with Dr. R. Murray Schaeffer, Chuck Maronic, David Friesen
, Tony Malaby
, Rob Kaplan & Mark Chisolm in modern performance concepts and practice.
As a dance accompanist he has worked with and accompanied such artists as Pina Bausch
, Sean Curran, Ib Andersen
, David Dorfman
, Robert Moses
, Ronald K. Brown, Evidence
, Delphos Dance, Twyla Tharp
, and Jennifer Tsukyama.
Over thirty of his compositions for modern dance performance have been performed all over the US
in such venues as the Joyce Theater
, Soho
, Gammage Auditorium
, NYU, Arizona Museum for Youth, Scottsdale Center for the Arts, and Phoenix Symphony Hall.
His scores can be heard with The Paper Project, Scorpius Dance Theater's: FANTASY, Keith Johnson, Conder Dance, Movement Source Dance Company, Kim Karpanti, Pippa Frame, and in the film Universal Soldier: Regeneration.
He is a guest artist with Free Arts of AZ, a non-profit organization
whose mission is to help educate and heal troubled and at risk youth in AZ
through the farts, music, theater, and dance. Kris teaches guitar and drum/body percussion workshops at schools and group homes all over AZ.
He is program director of the Ear Candy charity and director of music at Metro Arts Institute.
Kris is also the guitar instructor and director of a 30 piece "guitorchestra" at Notre Dame Preparatory High School in Scottsdale
, AZ.
His desire for performance is also demonstrated by his involvement and membership of some of the United States finest ensembles as a percussionist, guitarist, and keyboardist.
----
Calo Flamenco: Ballet de Martin Gaxiola - One of the US's largest flamenco
reparatory ensembles. Replete with nine dancers, and eight musicians and singers under the musical direction of guitarist/composer Chris Burton Jacome, Calo's Broadway
ready show is bringing flamenco to large audiences across the US and abroad.
----
Drunken Immortals - An 8 piece live hip-hop band who tours and performs internationally, has performed with such heavy weights as KRS1, Public Enemy, Living Legends
, Black Sheep
, and DJ ZTrip to name a few. Members include BradB, Mike Cause, DJ Pickster, Dumper Foo, Jeremy Dana, and Foundation.
----
Jody Marie Gnant
and BoGeSO - the band who was part of Kyle MacDonald's one red paper clip story. Performed in Canada
at Kyle's house warming party and jammed out with Corbin Bernsen
. The trade resulted in studio time at Metalworks Studios
.
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, Composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, Singer-Songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, Guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, Philosopher, Pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, and multi Percussionist.
Raised in Maplewood, New Jersey
Maplewood, New Jersey
Maplewood is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 23,867.-History:...
, Kristofer began singing & piano lessons at the age of four. Other instruments followed such as the clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
, bass
Bass (instrument)
Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...
, and drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, and at the age of thirteen the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
.
Inspired by a diverse range of music from Mozart to Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
. Kristofer began his quest for creating and performing all styles of music from flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
, to Hip Hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, to jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, to classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
. He cites performing at Woodstock
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
, on Max Yasgurs farm in 1997 with the Buddy Miles
Buddy Miles
George Allen Miles, Jr. , known as Buddy Miles, was an American rock and funk drummer, most known as a founding member of The Electric Flag in 1967, then as a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys from 1969 through to January 1970.-Early life:George Allen Miles was born in Omaha, Nebraska on...
band, in the fabled barn in which such greats as The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
and Jimi Hendrix had played, as the turning point in his life as a musician.
After graduating from Columbia High School
Columbia High School (New Jersey)
Columbia High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school located at 17 Parker Avenue in Maplewood, New Jersey, which serves students in grades nine through twelve within the South Orange-Maplewood School District, which includes Maplewood and South Orange Townships...
at age seventeen, Kris enrolled at Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
, where he began active work as a composer, guitarist, percussionist, pianist, and a dance accompanist for modern dance
Modern dance
Modern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. Although the term Modern dance has also been applied to a category of 20th Century ballroom dances, Modern dance as a term usually refers to 20th century concert dance.-Intro:...
and ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
. Kris began performing and collaborating with jazz combos, rock bands, hip-hop groups, flamenco ensembles, performance artists, choreographers, visual artists, and educators, helping to mould his approach to sound, performance, and music education.
At the ASU West's Interdisciplinary arts and multimedia program Kris studied orchestration and analog & digital recording concepts with Richard Lehrman and Daniel Lentz
Daniel Lentz
Daniel Lentz , Latrobe, Pennsylvania, is an electronic Western classical-music composer.Daniel Lentz achieved much fame as a musician while quite young—when he was still a student at Brandeis University he was awarded a fellowship in composition at Tanglewood in the summer of 1966...
, with Arthur Sabatini in film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
, Joseph Campbell
Joseph Campbell
Joseph John Campbell was an American mythologist, writer and lecturer, best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work is vast, covering many aspects of the human experience...
, futurism
Futurism
Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century.Futurism or futurist may refer to:* Afrofuturism, an African-American and African diaspora subculture* Cubo-Futurism* Ego-Futurism...
, bahaus, dada
Dada
Dada or Dadaism is a cultural movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1922. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature—poetry, art manifestoes, art theory—theatre, and graphic design, and concentrated its anti-war politics through a...
and post-modernism, and attended seminal workshops with Dr. R. Murray Schaeffer, Chuck Maronic, David Friesen
David Friesen
David Friesen is an American jazz bassist born in Tacoma, Washington. Friesen plays the double bass as well as the Oregon bass, which is an electrified acoustic bass....
, Tony Malaby
Tony Malaby
Tony Malaby is a post-bop jazz tenor saxophonist. Malaby moved to New York City in 1995 and has played with several notable jazz groups, including Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, Paul Motian’s Electric Bebop Band, Mark Helias’s Open Loose, Fred Hersch’s Trio + 2 and Walt Whitman...
, Rob Kaplan & Mark Chisolm in modern performance concepts and practice.
As a dance accompanist he has worked with and accompanied such artists as Pina Bausch
Pina Bausch
Philippina "Pina" Bausch was a German performer of modern dance, choreographer, dance teacher and ballet director...
, Sean Curran, Ib Andersen
Ib Andersen
Ib Andersen is a Danish dancer and choreographer. He is currently the artistic director of Ballet Arizona in Phoenix, Arizona.Internationally admired as both a dancer and choreographer, Andersen’s contribution to the world of dance is the product of a journey through multiple influences...
, David Dorfman
David Dorfman
David Dorfman is an American teen actor. His most notable role was as Aidan Keller in the 2002 horror film remake The Ring, and its 2005 sequel The Ring Two. He has also appeared in the 2000 film Panic as Sammy. Some people may remember him as the character "Charles Wallace Murry" in the film...
, Robert Moses
Robert Moses
Robert Moses was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of...
, Ronald K. Brown, Evidence
Evidence (artist)
Michael Perretta, better known as Evidence , is an American hip hop artist, producer, and member of the rap group Dilated Peoples. Evidence is a native of Venice, Los Angeles and was born to an Italian father and a Russian-American mother...
, Delphos Dance, Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp is an American dancer and choreographer, who lives and works in New York City.-Early years:Tharp was born in 1941 on a farm in Portland, Indiana, and was named after Twila Thornburg, the "Pig Princess" of the 89th Annual Muncie Fair in Indiana.she spend hours working on it to help her...
, and Jennifer Tsukyama.
Over thirty of his compositions for modern dance performance have been performed all over the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in such venues as the Joyce Theater
Joyce Theater
The Joyce Theater is a 472-seat dance performance venue located in the Chelsea area of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The Joyce Theater Foundation, the organization founded in 1982 that operates the theater, also owns the Joyce SoHo dance center located in a former firehouse on Mercer...
, Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
, Gammage Auditorium
Gammage Auditorium
Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium is considered to be the last public commission of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Groundbreaking took place and construction on the building began on May 23, 1962. It took 25 months to complete. The built-on-time, under-budget building opened in 1964 with the...
, NYU, Arizona Museum for Youth, Scottsdale Center for the Arts, and Phoenix Symphony Hall.
His scores can be heard with The Paper Project, Scorpius Dance Theater's: FANTASY, Keith Johnson, Conder Dance, Movement Source Dance Company, Kim Karpanti, Pippa Frame, and in the film Universal Soldier: Regeneration.
He is a guest artist with Free Arts of AZ, a non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
whose mission is to help educate and heal troubled and at risk youth in AZ
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
through the farts, music, theater, and dance. Kris teaches guitar and drum/body percussion workshops at schools and group homes all over AZ.
He is program director of the Ear Candy charity and director of music at Metro Arts Institute.
Kris is also the guitar instructor and director of a 30 piece "guitorchestra" at Notre Dame Preparatory High School in Scottsdale
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
, AZ.
His desire for performance is also demonstrated by his involvement and membership of some of the United States finest ensembles as a percussionist, guitarist, and keyboardist.
----
Calo Flamenco: Ballet de Martin Gaxiola - One of the US's largest flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
reparatory ensembles. Replete with nine dancers, and eight musicians and singers under the musical direction of guitarist/composer Chris Burton Jacome, Calo's Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
ready show is bringing flamenco to large audiences across the US and abroad.
----
Drunken Immortals - An 8 piece live hip-hop band who tours and performs internationally, has performed with such heavy weights as KRS1, Public Enemy, Living Legends
Living Legends
Living Legends is a rap group composed of eight hip hop artists from California. Beginning in the early 1990s, the crew garnered a following by recording, promoting, and performing their music independently...
, Black Sheep
Black Sheep (hip hop group)
Black Sheep is an alternative hip hop duo from Queens, New York, composed of Andres "Dres" Titus and William "Mista Lawnge" McLean. The duo is from New York but met as teenagers in North Carolina, where both of their families relocated. The group was an affiliate of the Native Tongues, which...
, and DJ ZTrip to name a few. Members include BradB, Mike Cause, DJ Pickster, Dumper Foo, Jeremy Dana, and Foundation.
----
Jody Marie Gnant
Jody Marie Gnant
Jody Marie Gnant is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Born April 16, 1978 in Hartland, Wisconsin, she grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona...
and BoGeSO - the band who was part of Kyle MacDonald's one red paper clip story. Performed in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
at Kyle's house warming party and jammed out with Corbin Bernsen
Corbin Bernsen
Corbin Dean Bernsen is an American actor and director, known for his work on television. He is best known for his roles as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series L.A. Law, and as retired police detective Henry Spencer on the USA Network comedy-drama series Psych...
. The trade resulted in studio time at Metalworks Studios
Metalworks Studios
Metalworks Studios is a music recording studio in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1978 by Gil Moore of the Canadian rock group Triumph.-Music Artists:*Alexisonfire*Adriana Lombardo*Jason Dawson*Kate Voegele*Demi Lovato*Fair to Midland...
.
Discography
- Drunken Immortals "Live" - 2001
- Blow Up Co-op - 2002 - Collective works from AZ Hip-Hop musicians and MC's
- Collective Memory - 2002 - Farbeon
- Soul Revolution - 2003 - Drunken Immortals
- Foundation - 2003 - Produced by foundation
- Brad B.: Drifter - 2005 - Produced by foundation
- Hot Concrete - 2006 - Drunken Immortals feat. Abstract Rude and Dres
- Ganesha:Music for Modern - 2006 - Kristofer T. Hill
- Flamenco - 2006 - Chris Burton Jacome ensemble
- Fantasy - 2007 - Sound track for Scorpius Dance Theater Production inspired by Michael ParksMichael ParksMichael Parks is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in almost fifty films and has made frequent TV appearances, but is probably best known for his work in recent years with Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, and Kevin Smith as well as the 1969 television series Then Came...
paintings - Pivot - 2007 - Jody Gnant and BoGeSo
- David & Lisa - 2008 - Soundtrack for Scorpius Dance Theater production
- A Vampire Tale- 2009 - Soundtrack for Scorpius Dance Theater production
- Insects: Gone- 2009 - Hip Hop
- Levanto - 2010 - Music from Ballet de Martin Gaxiola's flamenco dance production Levanto
External links
- http://www.freeartsaz.org/documents/34459FAW-gig0905F-web_003.pdf Free Arts of AZ article
- http://caloflamenco.com Calo Flamenco.com
- http://drunkenimmortals.com Drunken Immortals
- http://www.joblo.com/arrow/reviews.php?id=1352 Joblo the Movie Network
- http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/stage/articles/2009/10/23/20091023vamprevu1025.html AZ Central
- http://lifesciences.asu.edu/paperproject/exhibits/piamfy/opening.html The Paper Project
- http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Universal-Soldier-Regeneration-Blu-ray-Review/8005/ Blu-ray
- http://chrisburtonjacome.com Chris Burton Jacome
- http://scorpiusedancetheater.com Scorpius
- http://www.earcandycharity.org/ Ear Candy