Jeff Christmas - drummer

Jeff Christmas is a Canadian composer, arranger, conductor, drummer and percussionist, who studied at York University (Toronto), Western University (London), and Berklee College of Music (Boston).

Jeff is currently Principal Pops Conductor at Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. Jeff’s compositions and arrangements are in demand internationally and have been performed by symphonies and ensembles worldwide. He has appeared as a guest conductor with several symphony orchestras across North America, including Tucson Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Fresno Philharmonic, Winnipeg Symphony, Roanoke Symphony, Victoria Symphony, South Dakota Symphony, Vancouver Island Symphony, Lexington Philharmonic, and Jacksonville Symphony. As the drummer and conductor with Jeans ‘n Classics, he travels extensively throughout the U.S. and Canada, and has performed with artists such as Denny Doherty, Michael Burgess, The Rankins, Ashley McIsaac, and Martin Fry (ABC). For over a decade Jeff has been the conductor for Roger Hodgson (formerly of Supertramp), and in 2014 was conductor for legendary multi Grammy Award winning artist Michael Bolton.

Jeff was the Musical Director at London’s tribute to Olympic athletes, Inspiring A Dream, featuring his own original compositions, With Glowing Hearts, and Carry The Light. He was also the Musical Director/Arranger for the opening of the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, where he conducted the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra with guest artists Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Tom Cochrane, Doc Walker, and Chantal Kreviazuk.

Jeff’s music for the Opening Ceremonies of the Canada Games premiered on national television in the summer of 2001. His original composition, River - Journey to Wellspring was written for and inspired by members of the Wellspring Cancer Support Centre in London Ontario, and was released as a CD in May 2003. His piece Blue Nostalgia, commissioned for the 1998 Professional Writing Division Awards Concert at the Berklee Performing Arts Center, received the Millican Endowed Scholarship Award. Jeff was given the position of Composer in Residence with Orchestra London in 2002, and during his tenure, wrote several major compositions including Algoma, and Concerto For English Horn And Orchestra. In 2009, Canadian brass ensemble Brassroots released their fifth recording, Cocktails: The Music Of Jeff Christmas, which received critical acclaim for the originality of Jeff’s Cocktail Suite.

Jeff has worked on various feature films and television programs as a composer, orchestrator and musical assistant. He composed the theme and background music for High Point Casinos (Global TV) hosted by Kenny Rogers, and Chatroom (HBO, BET). His orchestrations and arrangements were used in the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards (CBC), and he was an orchestrator and musical assistant for several major motion pictures, including Rodney Dangerfield film My Five Wives, Children Of My Heart, and Cord, starring Daryl Hannah and Jennifer Tilly.