Bio

Dr. Christian Swafford is an artist and educator with a diverse percussion performance background. He has a particular interest in collaborative musical projects as well as promoting and performing new works for percussion. Located in the southeastern United States, he has been heard by Knoxville audiences at the Emporium Arts Center, the Knoxville Museum of Art, Honeybee Coffee, Historic Market Square, the Knoxville Civic Auditorium, Church Street United Methodist, Ijams Nature Center, and Lexington audiences at The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky, Transylvania University, and Keeneland.

Christian has performed nationally at the Big Ears Festival on three separate occasions — two of which are featured in Rolling Stone and the New York Times — alongisde artists such as Harold Budd and Nief-Norf. He has also performed at the Percussive Arts Society’s International Convention for a New Literature showcase in 2015 and an International Percussion Ensemble Competition showcase in 2018. He has performed twice regionally at the McCormick Marimba Festival and was the multi-percussion solo competition winner at the Tennessee Day of Percussion in 2020.

Christian has premiered works such as Dave Hollinden’s Time and Space for percussion trio, David Crowell’s Music for Percussion Quartet, Elliot Cole’s AMEN, Vicki Leona’s Serial Insomniac, Turner McCabe’s Painted Views, and Peter Naughton’s Box Truck Blues.

He is a member of Cue Percussion, a Knoxville based percussion quartet whose passion for interdisciplinary collaboration has led to one-of-a-kind dance performances via digital mediums — The Crossword Experiment and Social DisDance — as well as samba/calypso performances for Inside Out Sprouts! and a guest artist appearance at the Austin Percussion Festival.

Christian has directed and instructed several concert and marching ensembles in the southeast, including time as Snare Drum Technician and Battery Coordinator for 4th Wall Performing Arts (PIW) and as Battery Coordinator for the University of Tennessee Pride of the Southland Marching Band. He currently performs as a section percussionist with the Lexington Philharmonic. He received his Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Master of Music degrees at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville under Dr. Andrew Bliss and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Kentucky in Lexington under James Campbell.