Biography

Syracuse native Chris Short began playing violin at age 8 in a public school orchestra program. By high school she was a proud “orch dork” and chose to spend many free periods (and perhaps some math classes) practicing alone on stage in the auditorium. She was co-concertmaster of the Syracuse Symphony Youth Orchestra and was twice selected for the New York All State Orchestra. Chris attended music festivals every summer, including the New York State Summer School of the Arts, which is where she first met her husband, Sphere cellist Dave Short.

Chris holds degrees in violin performance from Ithaca College and the University of Colorado-Boulder. In addition to Sphere, she performs with the Fort Collins Symphony, the Greeley Philharmonic, the Boulder Philharmonic, Boulder Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Bach Ensemble, Pro Musica Colorado, Opera Colorado, and the Colorado Music Festival, and was a member of the MEO and Penumbra string quartets.

Chris teaches violin and viola lessons in her home studio and has coached student violinists at Front Range Youth Symphony and numerous area schools. She has also had the privilege of judging the CHSAA Solo & Ensemble Festival, as well as Colorado All State Orchestra seating auditions.

Although she has resided in the Denver-Boulder area since 2003, Chris still experiences “wait, I live in Colorado?!” moments thanks to the natural beauty of our state. She enjoys hiking and wishes she could spend more time exploring the mountains.

A founding member of Sphere, Chris delights in presenting an unexpected variety of music to audiences in hopes that each listener will find a moment of personal connection to something greater than themselves within a performance.