Dr. Christopher J.
Kocher is assistant professor of saxophone and jazz studies at the University of
South Dakota. With an extensive background in both classical and jazz
saxophone, Kocher has performed with the South Dakota Symphony, Sioux City
Symphony, Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, Cheyenne Symphony, Greeley
Philharmonic, Jazz Portraits, Sioux Falls Big Band, Sioux City Jazz Orchestra,
SD Jazz Quintet, Kansas City Boulevard Big Band, Denver Neophonic Orchestra,
Wichita Jazz Orchestra, Frank Mantooth, Al Jarreau, Mercedes Ellington, the
Temptations, the Jimmy Dorsey Big Band, and the Topeka Jazz Workshop.
The South
Dakota Arts Council-sponsored group Jazz Portraits, of which Kocher is a member,
is currently completing a CD of original music and jazz standards (see
www.sdjazzportraits.com ). He is active as a member of the Sempre Saxophone
Quartet and the Kocher Duo, which specializes in literature for saxophone and
flute. The winner of the Rocky Mountain Concerto Competition and the Southard
Competition, he has studied the saxophone and jazz with top performers and
educators such as Roger Greenberg, Eugene Rousseau, Jean Lansing, Gene Aitken,
Chuck Tumlinson, and Dan Haerle. Kocher has premiered new works by William
Schmidt and performed at the World Saxophone Congress, as well as regional and
national North American Saxophone Alliance events.
He is also active as a
clinician and adjudicator in South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Colorado, and
Kansas. Kocher completed the Doctor of Arts degree in Saxophone Performance and
Pedagogy at the University of Northern Colorado and also holds degrees in music
from Wichita State University (M.M., Saxophone Performance) and Washburn
University (B.M., Music Education & Saxophone Performance).
ckocher@usd.edu