CHRIS SIES, Percussion

Living in multiple musical dimensions, percussionist and composer Chris Sies seeks to bring visceral sonic experiences to audiences through his unique voice and “virtuoso flair” (Detroit Free Press). Sies has composed and performed with a multitude of artists, collaborating in acts such as the GRAMMY award-winning Attacca Quartet, the Akropolis Reed Quintet, the National Arab Orchestra, Nicole Mitchell’s Black Earth Ensemble, Shara Nova’s My Brightest Diamond, and the JUNO-nominated Land’s End Ensemble among many others. He has performed extensively throughout North America at venues including the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall, (le) poisson rouge, and Princeton University, with performances on the Vans Warped Tour, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, the Bowling Green New Music Festival, and Detroit’s Strange Beautiful Music.

Possessing a “searing intensity” (College Music Symposium), Sies made his debut on New Amsterdam Records in 2019 as the percussionist and composer with the cross-continental new music ensemble, Latitude 49, on the release of their second album Wax and Wire. Sies is also an in-demand orchestral percussionist, having performed with various orchestras across North America and Europe including the Sarasota Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic, and the Grafenegg Academy Orchestra, among others. 

Chris holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from University of Michigan where he directed the Modern Percussion Lab - an environment dedicated to fostering the creative spirit of performer-composers through collaboration and the formation of original work. 

Now based in Calgary, Alberta, Chris is the Principal Percussionist of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, co-directs the Sound Atlas New Music Festival, and is on the music faculty at the University of Calgary.