Praised by the Brass Bridge Magazine for his "wonderful sense of musicianship and virtuosic technique," DR. CHRIS COMBEST is a dynamic performer and educator who serves as Associate Professor of Music at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. Prior to joining the music faculty at MTSU, Dr. Combest held teaching positions at the University of Texas-San Antonio, Southern Illinois University, and the University of Illinois. He previously served as Principal Tubist with the Louisville Orchestra, Victoria Symphony, and the Ash Lawn Opera, and Wintergreen Music Festivals.

Combest has performed with the Nashville Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Nashville Opera, Chattanooga Symphony, Tulsa Symphony, the U.S. Army Field Band, and the Dallas Wind Symphony and collaborated with renowned artists, including film composer John Williams, the Canadian Brass, and Broadway star Audra McDonald. In addition to his live performing career and hundreds of recording credits that include work with NPR, the BBC, Sony, Disney, and numerous film, television, and video game soundtracks, he can also be heard on commercial recordings that include Andres Cardenas - Violin Concertos of Barber, Stock, and Copland (Albany), Brass Masters: Vol. XI with the Lexington Brass Band (Polyphonic), and Live from St. Louis with the Saxton’s Cornet Band.

A dedicated advocate for expanding the tuba and euphonium repertoire, Combest has commissioned works by prominent composers such as Maria Corley, Barbara York, John Stevens, Rodney Newton, Robert Litton, Stephen Rush, James Grant, James Stephenson, and Ethan Wickman. His latest solo album, Mosaic (2022), was awarded 3rd Prize from the American Prize and received a Silver Medal for Outstanding Achievement from the Global Music Awards. He is currently working on a new solo recording, set for release in 2025, which will feature newly commissioned works for tuba and percussion.

Combest frequently serves as an adjudicator for tuba and euphonium competitions, including the Leonard Falcone International Euphonium and Tuba Competition, the International Tuba Euphonium Association Competition, and the Asociación Española de Tubas y Bombardinos (AETYB) in Spain. He has also performed at the International Tuba Euphonium Conference and the U.S. Army Band Tuba-Euphonium Workshop in Washington, D.C. In 2023, he was a featured performer at Euphonios y Tubas Brazil, hosted by the Brazil Tuba-Euphonium Association in Bragança Paulista, near São Paulo, and he has been invited to perform at the upcoming International Women’s Brass Conference in Japan later this summer.

Many of Combest’s students have gone on to successful careers as educators and professional performers. They have won top honors in the Artist and Young Artist Divisions of the Leonard Falcone and ITEA Competitions, and have established themselves in higher education, U.S. orchestras and military bands, and at top-tier graduate programs in the United States, continuing to develop their own performing and teaching careers. Combest's teachers include Roger Bobo, Mark Moore, John Jones, and James Willett, and he holds degrees from the University of Illinois, the University of Louisville, and Eastern Kentucky University. He serves on the board of the Leonard Falcone International Euphonium-Tuba Festival and is a Life Member of the International Tuba Euphonium Association, where he served as Associate Editor for the ITEA Journal and as the Competitions Coordinator for many years.

Chris Combest is a Performing Artist and Clinician for Melton Meinl Weston and B&S instruments.  

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PUBLISHED RECORDINGS

“The Artistry of Leonard Falcone” [producer, streaming release] – Leonard Falcone Festival | 2023
• Produced digitally remastered recordings of Euphonium Virtuoso, Leonard Falcone

“Mosaic: Chris Combest, tuba” [solo recording] – Sponsored by Buffet Group USA | 2022
• The American Prize: 3rd Place Award for Brass Performance | 2023
• Global Music Awards: Silver Medal for Outstanding Achievement | 2023
• Nominated, Roger Bobo Award for Excellence in Recording – ITEA | 2023

“Under Tennessee Skies: Chris Combest, tuba” [solo recording] | 2020
• The American Prize: Finalist | 2021
• Global Music Awards: Silver Medal for Outstanding Achievement | 2021
• Nominated, Roger Bobo Award for Excellence in Recording – ITEA | 2021

“IFC3 & Friends” [CD recording] – Music of Francaix, Gipps, Mackey, Ravel, Self and Strauss | 2018
• The International Fellowship of Collaborators, Conductors, and Composers

“Andres Cardenes - Violin Concertos of Barber, Stock, Copland” [CD recording] | 2009
• Ian Hobson/ Eduardo Diazmunoz, Sinfonia da Camera, Albany Records

"Brass Masters: Vol. XI" [CD recording] The Lexington Brass Band, Polyphonic Label | 2001

"Live from St. Louis” [CD recording] Saxton's Cornet Band, St. Louis, MO, Classics Label | 1998

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