Christian Kollgaard, Bass
Bassist Chris Kollgaard joined the Pacific Symphony in 1985. A native of New York, Chris attended the Eastman School of Music, studying under legendary bassist Oscar Zimmerman and playing under conductors and composers such are Aaron Copeland, Pierre Boulez, David Zinman and Gustav Meyer. He received a Bachelor of Music degree in 1976, which was followed by graduate studies in England at London’s Guildhall School of Music. After completing his degree at the Guildhall School, he joined the Norwegian Opera Orchestra, moving to Norway at the age of 22. Two years in the Opera were followed by a position in the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra under the renowned conductor Maris Janssons.
In 1983 Chris pulled up roots in Europe and moved to Los Angeles to begin a career as a freelance musician in the busy Southern California music world. Aside from his long tenure with the Pacific Symphony, he has in the past been a member of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Long Beach Symphony. He currently is also a member of the Pasadena Symphony, playing along side his wife, cellist Deborah Kollgaard. As a studio musician, he has played on over one thousand film scores, records and television shows, ranging from “Back to the Future” and “Schindler’s List” to “Titanic”, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and the current Star Wars films. He is heard on recordings from such diverse artists as Prince, Madonna, Celine Dion, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand and The Red Hot Chile Peppers. He was a member of the Barbra Streisand orchestra for several tours, including the 1999 “Timeless” concerts that ushered in the new millennium in Las Vegas. In 2007 he was a member of the Academy Awards Orchestra at the Kodak Theatre.