About
Christian Lyons is a composer, arranger, pianist, organist, and music director active in the Greater Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. areas. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Composition and Applied Piano from the University of Delaware and a Master of Music degree in Theory and Composition from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Currently, he pursues a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Composition at The Catholic University of America, where he also teaches music theory courses. Lyons has studied with composers from a wide array of interests and styles, including Jennifer Margaret Barker, Robert Maggio, Van Stiefel, Jacob Cooper, Adam Silverman, Mark Rimple, Stephen Gorbos, Andrew Earle Simpson, and Joel Phillip Friedman.
Being a life-long Christian, he has worked for over ten years as a church music director, currently serving at Mount Lebanon United Methodist Church in Wilmington, DE. Christian’s compositional focus is on music of a sacred nature, as seen in the majority of his works, including Come, They Told Me, an orchestral commission from the St. Paul’s UMC Orchestra, Higher, a piece written for the Philadelphian vocal sextet Variant 6, Sovereign, a massive seven-movement work for wind ensemble based on the Book of Revelation that was his master’s thesis composition, and Listen to the Wondrous Story, a commissioned work for the Catholic University of America’s Symphony Orchestra and Choir. Christian intends to continue his career in academia while composing music associated with his Christian beliefs.
Collaborating groups:
Serafin String Quartet (now Serafin Ensemble)
Shenandoah Conservatory Dance Program
Catholic University of America Symphony Orchestra
West Chester University, Wells School of Music Wind Symphony
NOW Music Society of West Chester University
University of Delaware Opera Workshop
Still Breathing Ensemble at the University of Delaware