Christopher Norton
Dr. Christopher Norton is a Professor of Music, the Coordinator of Percussion and the director of the Belmont Percussion Ensemble at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. He received his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Percussion Performance from Louisiana State University, and a Performer's Certificate, Master of Arts in Theory, and Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance and Theory degrees from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. Dr. Norton is an active recitalist, concerto soloist, and clinician specializing in the keyboard percussion instruments: marimba, vibraphone, and xylophone.
Prior to his appointment to Belmont in 2001, Dr. Norton taught a wide range of courses in conducting, music theory, and history at Western Kentucky University for fourteen years. As a conductor, he served eight years as Musical Director and Conductor of the Bowling Green Western Symphony Orchestra and led several productions in the University's Opera Department. In 1999, Western Kentucky University's Potter College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, gave Dr. Norton their highest honor by bestowing upon him the Award for Teaching Excellence. He also received the Award for Research and Creativity in 2000 and the Outstanding University Teacher of the Year Award by the Kentucky Third District Music Educators' Association. As a clinician, speaker, and masterclass teacher, Dr. Norton's presentations have taken place at numerous university campuses in North America, summer music festivals, and percussion seminars. The Percussive Arts Society (PAS) invited him to participate in the 2001 International Convention as a clinician and concerto soloist, as a masterclass teacher in 1998, as a presenter in the Fundamentals Track in 1997, and as a panelist in the Pedagogy Forum in 1992. He serves on the PAS Auditions and Competitions Committee and was PAS Kentucky State Chapter President from 1999-2001.
In the fall of 2001, Dr. Norton and the percussion group NEXUS premiered a new concerto commissioned by the Nashville Chamber Orchestra. He is the marimbist in the Bob Becker Ensemble and the featured xylophone soloist with the Jack Daniel's Original Silver Coronet Band. He has played with the Nashville Symphony, New Orleans Symphony, Baton Rouge Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Eastern Music Festival Philharmonic, and Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra. Dr. Norton has recorded on several labels including, Angel, Magnatone, Naxos, Pantheon, Mercury and Green Hills, and Dr. Norton's compositions are published by Alabaster Music, Innovative Percussion, and Pioneer Percussion. He is endorsed by Kp3, Malletech, and Zildjian.
Contact Information: (615) 460-6987 or email
