About
A native of Austin, Texas, Christopher Mothersole is a classical crossover artist and composer based in Eugene, Oregon. Praised for his “pure, yet colorful tone and amazing technical facility,” he previously served as Instructor of Clarinet and Chamber Music at the University of West Georgia. Before that appointment, he was principal clarinet of the Great Falls Symphony and a member of its resident wind quintet, the Chinook Winds. Performances with the ensemble were featured on Montana Public Radio and Montana PBS's 11th & Grant.Christopher has performed on both sides of the Atlantic under conductors including Bernard Haitink, Sir Roger Norrington, Hugh Wolff, and Tito Muñoz. In a Grammy-sponsored collaboration, he performed with DJ Premier in the Berklee Symphony Orchestra for Re:Generation, a film selected for the SXSW Film Festival that fused classical music with hip-hop and electronic music.His work places him at the forefront of clarinet performance with guitar effects pedals. He has presented for the International Clarinet Association on multiple occasions, demonstrating the expanded sound possibilities of live effects and collaborating with composers to create music for what has become known as “EFX Clarinet.” Through lectures and recitals in the United States and abroad, he works to make this practice visible and accessible and gives performers the tools to begin using effects pedals.His recent compositions and commissioning projects include Jenni Brandon's Cacophony for Clarinet & Delay and Chansons de la Nature for Clarinet & Delay, works by Robert Langenfeld and Dalton Regnier, and several of Christopher's own compositions. Among them is Delaytudes, his critically acclaimed collection of studies for clarinet and delay. In April 2025, he premiered Christopher Kaminski's Reed Between the Lines, the first concerto written for solo EFX clarinet, with the University of West Georgia Wind Ensemble.Christopher has performed and presented on EFX clarinet at ClarinetFest, New Music Weekend, and the Low Clarinet Festival of the International Clarinet Association; Festival Internacional de Clarinete Yuuban; the Research on Contemporary Composition Conference; the American Single Reed Summit; Steel City Clarinet Day; and Atlanta Clarinet Day. He has also performed throughout the Southeast with ensembles including the Atlanta Pops Orchestra, Carroll Symphony, and LaGrange Symphony, and has taught through the Carroll Symphony Music Academy and the Carrollton City and Carroll County school systems.Christopher earned his Bachelor of Music at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Craig Nordstrom, and his Master of Performance at the Royal College of Music in London, where his teachers included Richard Hosford, Timothy Lines, and Colin Lawson. He has pursued a Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Oregon.
