Trombonist • Publisher • Educator • Mental Performance Specialist

Christian Paarup is a San Francisco–based trombonist, educator, and publisher whose career spans international orchestral performance, university teaching, and creative work in brass literature. He has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Ballet, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, Dallas Opera, Utah Symphony, Houston Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Hawai’i Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, San Antonio Symphony, and several regional orchestras, including those of Abilene (TX), Carmel (CA), Fresno, Gainesville (FL), Marin, Oakland, Ocala (FL), Santa Rosa, Tulsa (OK), and Waco.

A dedicated chamber musician, Christian is a founding member of Fort Worth Brass, and performs regularly with Bay Area ensembles such as Nomad Session and Brass Over Bridges. He has also toured San Francisco schools with Gusto Winds, a San Francisco Symphony Adventures in Music ensemble, bringing live music to thousands of students each year. His recording work includes sessions for Sony and at Skywalker Ranch for game and film soundtracks, as well as performances with artists such as Beck, The Who, Hugh Jackman, Weird Al Yankovic, Chris Botti, and Andrea Bocelli.

As an educator, Christian serves on the trombone faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College & Continuing Education Academy and at California State University, Fresno (Fresno State). At SFCM, he directs the Pre-College Brass Ensemble, Continuing Education Low Brass Ensemble, and the Continuing Education Brass Ensemble. He has also taught at Baylor University and Dallas College. In addition to his institutional teaching, Christian has maintained a private studio, guiding high school students who have earned positions in Texas All-State ensembles and scholarships to leading collegiate music programs. He is also the founder and former director of the Trombone Choir of North Texas. His guest appearances include the Mountain Light Music Festival, the University of Florida International Brass Festival, and as a featured soloist with his alma mater band, the Azle High School Wind Ensemble, at the Murchison Performing Arts Center.

In addition to performing and teaching, Christian is the founder of Paarup Music Editions, through which he arranges, edits, and publishes new works for brass. His editions and original works have been performed internationally and featured at the International Trombone Festival and the American Trombone Workshop. He has collaborated with composers and artists such as Anthony Barfield, Joseph Turrin, Trevor Weston, Joseph Alessi, Enrique Crespo, Per Brevig, Dennis Bubert, and Houghton Horns on engraving, reductions, and production projects. Recent arranging work includes programs for the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra’s Artists in Residence ensemble and the San Francisco Symphony’s Adventures in Music series.

Christian earned his Bachelor of Music in Performance (magna cum laude) from Baylor University and his Master of Music in Classical Trombone Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, studying with Dennis Bubert, Brent Phillips, and David Finlayson. He also holds a Master of Science in Sport & Performance Psychology from the University of Western States and is the founder of Performance Forte, a consulting practice that provides mental performance support for musicians and performing artists. Through this work, he integrates principles of confidence-building, focus, and motivation into both his consulting and his music teaching.

Outside of his professional work, Christian enjoys exploring California’s natural and cultural landscapes with his wife, Tori (who works at SFCM), and their Yorkshire Terrier, Frodo. Together they love traveling to Europe—especially Denmark, his father’s homeland—as well as England and Germany.