Christian Woehr

Viola, composition/improvisation

Born

1951, Dallas, Texas, 3rd child of 6, to two orchestra musicians.

Childhood

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Summers in Chautauqua, N.Y.

Early talents

Blocks, composing, treehouses, swimming underwater, exploring.

Studies

Viola, French horn, voice, chamber music, composition

College

Magna cum lauda graduate, Eastman School of Music

Post-college

Zen student of Roshi Phillip Kapleau, Sensei Toni Packer.
Further studies in Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais, Yoga.
Improvisation workshop studies with David Darling.

Positions held

Violist, Columbus String Quartet
Principal Viola, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Acting Principal Viola, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra
Principal Viola, Aspen Festival Orchestra
Assistant Principal Viola, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra

Accomplishments

Constructed 6 story, 50' high treehouse in Chautauqua, NY.
1st orchestral work (age 16) premiered by Pittsburgh Symphony.
Soloist, Carnegie Hall, NY and Kennedy Center, DC (Rochester Philharmonic, David Zinman conducting).
Brought massed violas of Eastman School of Music and Rochester Philharmonic to World Viola Congress in Boston to premiere works.
Pioneered solo routes over Brooks & Wrangell-St. Elias Ranges, Alaska, and Coast Range, British Columbia.
Lego castles featured on St. Louis local television.

Hobbies

Model railroading, astronomy, Legos, backpacking (off trail)

Eccentricities

Non-driver, vegetarian.