INTRODUCTION
One of New York’s freshest musical theater voices, established Broadway musician Chris Reza is now making a name for himself as an emerging composer, lyricist, and bookwriter. With performance credits as both chair holder (Fun Home, Radio City’s Christmas Spectacular) and substitute musician (Book of Mormon, Matilda, How to Succeed, etc.),  Chris’ musical inspirations, training, and professional experience create the unique palette from which his bold writing grows.

COMPOSITIONS
Chris’ recent commissions as a concert-music composer include a work premiered by the 38-year English Horn veteran of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Mr. Thomas Stacy, and Grammy Award-Winning multi-instrumentalist, Mr. Paul McCandless. Chris’ compositions have been performed on three continents and range from duos, to big bands, to symphony orchestras.

TRAINING
Chris holds a Masters Degree in Jazz Composition from the Manhattan School of Music (MSM) where he studied with the world-renowned Grammy Award-Winning composer/pianist, Jim McNeely, and Grammy-nominated composer Dr. Edward Green. Chris’ introduction to formal musical theater analysis in MSM’s Composing for Musical Theater and Songwriting courses substantially and irreversibly changed his artistic trajectory. Prior to MSM, Chris earned two Bachelors Degrees from the University of North Texas (UNT) in Multiple Woodwinds Performance and Jazz Studies Performance. His accumulated training in composition includes four semesters of Jazz Arranging, Orchestration, Jazz Composing and Arranging for Studio Orchestra, Advanced Studio Composition and Scoring, four semesters of Music Sequencing, Film Scoring, and others.

BROADWAY THEATRE COMMITTEE
Chris serves as Vice-Chair of the Broadway Theatre Committee, the liaison between the Broadway Musicians Community and the Associated Musicians of Greater New York, American Federation of Musicians Local 802, one of the largest local unions of professional musicians in the world.

PERFORMANCE
Chris Reza plays 16 woodwinds including flutes, single and double reeds. Chris performed with the New York City Rockettes in the 2016 Radio City Christmas Spectacular Orchestra after winning the Lead Alto Chair. Having performed in more than 40 musicals in the past 8 years, he was most recently the regular reed chair holder in Broadway’s 5-time Tony Award-winning musical Fun Home. Chris is featured on Fun Home’s Broadway and Off-Broadway original cast recordings, beginning the opening number with the show’s notable English Horn solo. His Broadway subbing credits include The Book of Mormon, Matilda, Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (starring Daniel Radcliffe). He also performed in the City Center Encores! Off-Center production of Alan Menken's musical God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (featuring James Earl Jones) and performed as a local musician in the most recent national tours of Anything Goes and Jekyll & Hyde.

ADDITIONAL WORK
Chris has performed with distinguished individuals and ensembles such as Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Anika Noni Rose, Michael Cerveris, Marc Shaiman, Maureen McGovern, Jenn Colella, Lyle Mays, Grammy-nominated One O'Clock Lab Band, Plano Symphony Orchestra, Lone Star Wind Orchestra, UNT Wind Symphony, and numerous other ensembles. Chris is featured on the original cast recordings of the musicals A Second Chance and Tokio Confidential as well multiple albums by the UNT Wind Symphony and Two O’Clock Lab Band.

PODCAST
Greenroom Conversations, a podcast dedicated to inspiring students and those finding their own path to “making it” in the performing arts, featured Chris on his experiences breaking into the Broadway scene. The interview is available here.

WEBSITE
Visit www.ChrisReza.com for more.