Kris Carlisle

Kris Carlisle is a professional pianist and educator specializing in contemporary music.  Music critics have praised his performances for their “use of color, musical nuance, technical ability, and flair”.  His recordings have won several awards for outstanding performances of new music, consistently championing the works of up-and-coming American composers. His award-winning project The American Evolution, looks at the ways contemporary American composers use traditional genres of composition, providing performances and recordings of this important music.  The most recent recording, New Stories for saxophone and piano, looks at music by contemporary American women composers. This collaboration with Professor Gary Paulo has brought attention to important works by under-represented composers and continues to garner praise from around the world.  Recently, Dr. Carlisle began exploring the connections between contemporary music and architecture, looking for correlations between music and this non-musical art form, which has resulted in presentations around the country.  The current phase explores the compositional voices of LGBTQ+ composers with a recording planned for the summer of 2025.

In keeping with his work in contemporary music, Dr. Carlisle is the founder of Berry College’s New Music Ensemble, specializing in works that encourage students to explore their creative side through performance, improvisation, and composition.