We’re looking forward to introducing you to Ross Christopher. Check out our conversation below.
Hi Ross, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
First let me say, I am not a morning person. But I have found over the last 2 years, that getting outdoors early in the morning, and getting active, has become a positive and healthy practice that I look forward to each day. I wake up and see my girls off to school before I head out on a 2-3 mile hike. There’s several great trails pretty close to my house. So I’ll head to one and spend the hike listening to new music or a podcast or an audio book, and that usually leads to some sort of brainstorming. I almost always take notes for a new song or an idea or concept I’d like to explore more. Then I wrap it up with 30 minutes in the sauna. It’s always a toasty 172 degrees and I leave feeling refreshed and ready to tackle my day.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello, my name is Ross Christopher. I’m a violinist, songwriter, and composer from St. Louis, MO. My wife Kate and I have 2 girls and a dog named Rue. I’ve been a songwriter, violinist, and composer since college. I’ve done a lot of touring and have shared the stage with some amazing artists and friends. As a violinist I started writing string arrangements and touring with other artists and bands. When I wasn’t on the road I would write, produce, and record music in my studio.
More recently I started focusing on instrumental music (neo-classical, post-rock, ambient/orchestral), and have been fortunate to have my music licensed for tv, film, documentaries, commercials, etc. I love the unexpected surprises of telling vivid stories without lyrics to do the storytelling.
Throughout the years, I’ve released 20+ albums and am super excited for everyone to hear my newest album, Edge of the Universe (available on all streaming platforms Friday, September 5). It was such a fun project that I can’t wait for you to experience. Edge of the Universe was an exploration of the idea(s) of infinity. Just as things can increase in size and scope infinitely, so too can things be divided smaller and smaller, infinitely. So this idea intrigued me that no matter how far away and unfathomable an infinite and expanding universe can seem, it’s also infinitely close and personal and tangible. I hope you’ll check it out!
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
This is such an important question. It’s also something I don’t think is discussed nearly enough – the restoration part anyway. Trust is the breaking point for me. When I can no longer trust someone’s word or heart or motivations, the bond is broken. It’s broken in a way that requires us to put up safeguards and boundaries, to protect us from becoming what we aren’t, or shouldn’t be. These safeguards protect us from becoming bitter or spiteful, apathetic or hateful.
I think restoration can only begin when and if the relationships are deemed worth salvaging and they’re based in rational and thoughtful discourse. I think both parties involved need to want to change. They need to want resolve. At that point, honest discourse can take place where facts are honestly understood, pain is recognized, and proactive reconciliation is made. It’s transformational and necessary. I think Desmond Tutu demonstrated this when he said, “There can be no future unless there is peace. There can be no peace unless there is reconciliation, and true reconciliation exposes the awfulness, the abuse, the pain, the hurt, the truth.”
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
When I saw so many of my childhood leaders and mentors jump wholeheartedly into fascism. I was heartbroken. For my entire childhood, these leaders taught me to be an upstanding citizen that was kind and gentle and forgiving and honest. They taught me that everyone had worth and that life was about sharing what you had with those that didn’t.
All of the sudden, the floodgates were opened to daily expressions of sexism, racism, and hate. It’s like the switch was flipped and they felt emboldened to say the things they always thought, because they had finally found their leader to say the things they were thinking, but could never say.
When this happened, I wrote and recorded an angry and very political album, called Kamikaze. It was cathartic in that I was unleashing some inner-rage through my art. But I also knew, moving forward, that I couldn’t just be angry all of the time. So Kamikaze (2017) was my last singer-songwriter album with lyrics. Ever since, I’ve challenged myself to channel these emotions with ideas for sounds and instrumentation. The heartbreak hasn’t gone away, but using my songwriting as catharsis has helped and hopefully inspired.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
Capturing and creating beauty. In whatever form that may be – photography, art, architecture, songwriting, cooking, etc. Being able to create is amazing in the first place. So being able to observe and recognize beauty and create something that hopefully resonates with others, to stir a bit more beauty into the mix, is the goal. It’s life.
Creating beautiful things also doesn’t mean you shy away from darkness and injustice. It actually requires you to step closer and to listen and learn and reflect. That’s a beautiful gift and responsibility.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
In the music industry? Ha! That’s probably the story for 99% of us! Don’t get me wrong, I love to be noticed for my work and dedication to my art. But if that’s all that’s driving me, I don’t think it would ever sustain. Because I do a lot of string arrangements for artists/bands and write music that’s licensed for tv, film, docs, and commercials, I don’t actually get to meet many of the people that are validating my craft.
An artist bounces me stems and I compose and record a string arrangement and email it back. Sometimes there’s an actual conversation, but mostly it’s just email or text. If I relied on praise from fans reading my name in 7 pt font in an album’s liner notes (that rarely exist anymore), I would have quit a decade ago. Instead, it’s always been about the challenge and experience to create something new, meaningful, and unique, that tells a story in it’s own unique way, and that hopefully resonates with the listener.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rosschristopher.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rosschristopher/
- Twitter: https://x.com/rosschristopher
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosschristophermusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT18yPRnADFdJjnUIBmrFzQ
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/rosschristopher-music
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/44jyylTQIB8qkPlQUHI614?si=r30X2AVdST2Fvvu3_OfGqA
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/ross-christopher/292934720
Image Credits
Brandon Schultz
Jeremy Cowart
