Christopher Bianco
Assistant Professor of Music
Director of Bands, Winds and Percussion
PAC 60; (360) 650-3404
Christopher.Bianco@wwu.edu
Degrees:
- Doctorate of Musical Arts: The University of Texas at Austin
- Master of Music: The University of Montana
- Bachelor of Music Education: Northwestern University
Dr. Bianco brings a diverse background to the podium and to his students in the classroom. He has held positions at Libertyville High School in Libertyville, Illinois, Boise High School in Boise, Idaho, St. Francis High School in St. Francis Minnesota and Baylor University in Waco Texas. In those positions he was involved in all aspects of his students’ musical growth including Jazz Ensemble, Marching Band, Choir, Orchestra and Advanced Placement Music Theory.
He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. At Northwestern, Dr. Bianco played in virtually all of the concert ensembles including Don Owens’ Jazz I. While in the Chicago area Dr. Bianco maintained an active trumpet studio as well as holding the position of Artistic Director and Conductor of the Wilmette Community Band.
He completed his formal training at The University of Texas at Austin as a student of Jerry Junkin where he served as a teaching assistant for the conducting program, UT Wind Ensemble, Chamber Winds and Longhorn Band. He received the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Wind Conducting in December of 2004.
In addition to his work with Jerry Junkin, Dr. Bianco has studied, conducting with John Paynter, Kevin Sedatole and Steve Bolstad. His trumpet teachers have included Vincent Cichowicz, Ray Sasaki, Steve Bolstad, David Coleman and Vince DiMartino.
Throughout his career Dr. Bianco has conducted ensembles in eight states and performed as a trumpet player in many others. Recent projects include a faculty performance of George Crumb’s Songs, Drones and Refrains of Death, two publications in GIA’s Teaching Music through Performance in Band and research into the works of Texas composer Donald Grantham that culminated in a lecture presentation at the 2006 CBDNA Southwest Regional Conference.
Christopher now holds the position of Director of Bands at Western Washington University. He resides in Bellingham, Washington with his wife Laurie and their daughters Sophia and Elena.
