Christopher Gilliam

Chris Gilliam, Symphony Chorus Director

A conductor praised for his “precision and clarity,” and performances hailed as “enlightened,” Chris Gilliam is the Director of the Winston-Salem Symphony Chorus, Director of Choral Activities at Wake Forest University, Artistic Director and Conductor for the Winston-Salem Choral Artists, and Director of Music at Highland Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem.

North Carolina native Chris Gilliam has served as the Director of the Symphony Chorus since 2015. Since that time, he has conducted major works for the Symphony, including Mozart’s Requiem and Handel’s Messiah, and prepared the Chorus for major works including Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast, Haydn’s Creation, Mahler’s 2nd Symphony, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and Brahms’ Requiem, among others. Past stand-alone concerts conducted with the Symphony Chorus include Locklair’s Requiem, Bach’s Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott (BWV 80), Purcell’s Hail, Bright Cecilia, Gjeilo’s Sunrise Mass, Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil (Op. 37), and Dan Forrest’s Requiem for the Living and Jubilate Deo.

Gilliam joined the faculty at Wake Forest University in the fall of 2020 as Director of Choral Activities, where he conducts the University’s premiere touring choir, Chamber Choir, along with Concert Choir and Schola Cantorum. He sings with the professional chorus at the Oregon Bach Festival as well as with Bach Akademie Charlotte, where he is also Assistant Director of the Chorus. He is Director of Music at Highland Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem, and Artistic Director and Conductor for the Winston-Salem Choral Artists, an all-professional non-profit chamber choir in the Piedmont Triad. A composer of choral music, Gilliam’s works have been published by Alliance Music Publications, Beckenhorst Press, E.C. Schirmer, and Lorenz, and he is a member of the American Choral Director’s Association (ACDA) and the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO). Gilliam studied with Simon Carrington (conducting) and John Stephens (voice) at the University of Kansas, where he completed his doctorate in 2003.

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