CHRISTOPHER RUSSELL has received international attention and accolades for his conducting, innovative programming, lectures on music, and his work teaching young conductors. He has conducted orchestras on five continents in a wide range of music from standard repertoire to world premieres to forgotten classics of the past. His repertoire of American orchestral music encompasses over 50 different composers. The Los Angeles Times called him “a forcefully dramatic conductor with a strong technique”. 

His guest conducting and other musical activities have often taken him to China including concerts with some of China’s top orchestras including the Shanghai Philharmonic, the Shenzhen Symphony and multiple engagements with the Harbin Symphony, and Zhengzhou’s Yellow River Symphony. He has lectured and judged festivals in other Chinese cities including Beijing, Dalian, Hong Kong, and Qingdao. His recent activities in China include serving as a judge in the 5th Schoenfeld International String Competition in Harbin and the 2025 Hong Kong International Music Festival. 

Other guest conducting appearances include the Bursa State Symphony Orchestra in Turkey, the Orchestra Sinfonica della Basilicata in Italy.the Orquestra Sinfônica Heliópolis in São Paulo, Brazil, the MasterWorks Festival in Ohio and Indiana, the Thames Youth Orchestra of London, and the Australia’s Sydney Youth Orchestra Philharmonic. Russell conducted at Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, and famous concert halls in London, Vienna, Prague, Shanghai, Moscow, and Saint Petersburg. 

Russell serves as Associate Professor at Azusa Pacific University (APU) in Southern California. He conducts the APU Symphony Orchestra and leads their graduate instrumental conducting program. He frequently adjudicates in music competitions and festivals both in person and online. 

A new music advocate, Russell conducted numerous premieres including the first U.S. performances of works by Tansy Davies, Brett Dean, Jonathan Harvey, Anders Hillborg, Jia Guoping, Magnus Lindberg, Per Nørgård, Kaija Saariaho, and Éric Tanguy. He led the U.S. premiere of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Stockholm Diary for string orchestra with the APU Symphony. 

Russell’s musical interest also extends to performing rarely-heard older music including the U.S. or California premieres of many works from the early and mid-20th century including music by Havergal Brian, Rued Langgaard, Bohuslav Martinu, and Allan Pettersson. Actively conducting American music abroad, he led the Australian and Brazilian premieres of Ives’ 2nd Symphony, the Austrian and Slovak premieres of Ives’ Decoration Day, and the Russian premiere of Peter Mennin’s Symphony No. 5. Russell conducted the world premiere of the Symphony in A composed in 1878 by Leopold Damrosch with the APU Symphony, which they recorded for the British label Toccata Classics. 
Russell’s conducting students have been appointed as Music Directors, Assistant Conductors and cover conductor for major orchestras. Additionally, they entered doctoral programs at prestigious institutions, conducted in the Hollywood movie studios, and were accepted to renowned summer festivals and competitions leading orchestras in the US, South America, Europe, and Asia. For more information, please visit russellconductor.com or Instagram @russellconductor