Butler, Christopher

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Teachers: James Campbell , William Moersch, Ricardo Flores, Paul Vailliancourt and John David

Website: www.butlerpercussion.com

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Dr. Christopher Butler is a percussion educator, artist, conductor, author, and composer with experience in all facets of percussion. He is currently an Associate Professor of Practice and Director of Percussion Activities at Southern Illinois University (Carbondale, Illinois). Dr. Butler teaches all percussion courses including applied lessons and percussion ensemble, as well as several important courses in music technology. In 2020, he received the SIU College of Liberal Arts Teaching Innovation Award that included grant funding to develop new courses for music video production and live streaming.

Dr. Butler is an active performer and clinician who frequently visits high schools and universities presenting a variety of topics including: music technology, electro-acoustic works for percussion, snare drum, marimba, timpani, drum set, multi-percussion, orchestral excerpts, percussion ensemble, and more. In addition, Dr. Butler has presented and performed at a multitude of international conferences and contemporary music festivals including the Percussive Arts Society International Convention and the Outside the Box New Music Festival. His compositions and methods for percussion are published through Tapspace Publications, Blueshift Music, and Meredith Music Publications. He also serves as the Illinois Percussive Arts Society Vice President and Director of Publications. He is a proud endorser of Marimba One and Innovative Percussion.

In 2016, Christopher co-founded the BlueSHIFT percussion quartet alongside Matthew Geiger, Jeremy Maytum, and Francisco Perez. Dedicated to the performance of new works for chamber percussion, BlueSHIFT has performed and premiered new works throughout the USA at prestigious universities including: Colorado State University, University of Iowa, Iowa State University, Tennessee Tech University, University of Kentucky, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Illinois State University, Vanderbilt University, Morehead State University, and Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Dr. Butler is also a passionate dad with a beautiful wife, two wonderful children, and a large golden doodle.