Chris Walden
Chris Walden (born October 10, 1966 in Hamburg, Germany) is a German composer, arranger, and conductor living in the U.S. He leads the Chris Walden Big Band, based in Los Angeles and was nominated six times for a Grammy award.
He is probably best known for writing big band and orchestral arrangements for recording artists such as Michael Bublé, Diana Krall, Jennifer Hudson, Paul Anka, and Christopher Cross. He has been an arranger for "American Idol" since 2007 and has worked for producers like David Foster,Phil Ramone, and Tommy LiPuma.
He has composed the music for many films and TV shows in Germany as well as in the U.S. In Germany he is mostly known for having composed the music for the long-running TV-series "Dr. Stefan Frank".
Education
Chris Walden grew up in Hamburg, Germany where he learned to play the recorder at age 5, the piano at age 8, and the trumpet at age 13, which then became his main instrument. He started writing arrangements for local school big bands at age 16. He graduated from high school at age 19 and went on to study popular music at the Music Academy in Hamburg. At age 21 he moved to Cologne, Germany to study with trumpeters Jon Eardley and Malte Burba and arranger Jerry van Rooyen at the Cologne University of Music. He graduated in 1994 with two Masters of Music in trumpet and composition/arrangement.
