Christopher is the composer-in-residence of the Lionsgate Sinfonia and is the author of numerous concert works which have been performed by orchestras, chamber ensembles and choirs in Canada, the United States, and Europe. Notable performances include two world premieres by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Fanfare for Freedom performed by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic for an audience of forty-thousand, and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s performance or the aforementioned work for an audience of nine-thousand. Recently, internationally renowned cello virtuoso Inbal Segev commissioned the work Fractures of Solitude for her 20 for 2020 album. Other works include a concerto for piccolo written for Sarah Jackson (principal piccolo of the Los Angeles Philharmonic); Tranquility for solo English horn and orchestra premiered by the Vancouver Symphony’s Beth Orson; the 2015 the premiere of his Oboe Concerto written for Roger Cole, principal oboe of the Vancouver Symphony, and two world premieres at the Niederlenzer Musiktage of a piano concerto with soloist Oxana Shevchenko, and a second cello concerto for soloist Annette Jakovcic. Other major works include a Requiem; his expansive single-movement Symphony No.2, and a seven-hour oratorio setting of the Gospel According to Mark. His theatre works include a musical based on Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, ballet music for CatchingART Contemporary Ballet, as well as composing music for celebrated director Christopher Gaze and the Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival in Vancouver.

 

“It’s cinematic. It shows off the orchestra. A beautiful piece of music.”

 Tony Kamnikar,  South Bend Symphony Operations Director – Interview in the South Bend Tribune

 

In the world of scoring to picture, Christopher has composed music for hundreds of hours of film and television productions for clients that include the Discovery Channel, Corus, SyFy, Hallmark, Alliance Atlantis Television, Bell Media, YTV, Lifetime, the National Film Board of Canada, National Geographic, Teletoon, Cinetel, HGTV, Telefilm Canada, W-Network, Animal Planet, TLC, and the History Channel. His scores include all the original music for all fifteen seasons of the global hit docu-reality phenomenon Highway thru Hell which is seen in over 140 countries and at the time of its premiere was the highest rated show in Discovery’s history. Other series scores include The Nature of Things: Dinosaur Cold Case for the CBC, the critically acclaimed Airshow for Discovery, Game of Homes for W Network, all seven seasons of the top-rated Heavy Rescue 401,Mud Mountain Haulers, Timber Titans, Confessions: Animal Hoarding, Untold Stories of the ER, Wild Bear Rescue for Animal Planet, High Arctic Haulers for CBC, and Deadman’s Curse for Corus. He has also composed the themes for Save My Reno and Worst to First. Dramatic scores include Transparency starring Lou Diamond Phillips and Estella Warren, The Christmas Consultant with David Hasselhoff and Caroline Rhea, All of my Heart starring Lacey Chabert and Ed Asner, Love in Paradise and Welcome Home bothstarring Luke Perry, Moonlight in Vermont, Journey Back to Christmas starring Candice Cameron Bure and Tom Skerritt, My Christmas Dream starring Danica McKellar, Way of the Wicked with Christian Slater, and Highway to Heaven starring Grammy-winning artist Jill Scott, amongst many other titles.

 

“The music is tightly woven and hangs together sturdily. There is no dwindling of vitality across these 53 minutes.” (MusicWeb International)

 

“… substantial, often engaging…” (Gramophone Magazine)

 

His critically acclaimed recordings include the album Concertos for Oboe with the Seattle Symphony’s principal oboist Mary Lynch and the National Symphony’s Harrison Linsey as soloists, Music for Woodwind Choirs, Symphony No.2, Requiem, Mass & Te Deum, Stabat Mater, a cello concerto recorded by Christoph Croisé, and recently Concerto for Piccolo and Concerto for Four Wagner Tubas, all from Avie Records. These releases have garnered glowing reviews from leading music publications that include BBC Music and Gramophone magazines. Avie has also released Christopher’s seven-hour Gospel According to Mark oratorio.

 

 

 

“…intensely focused…. a rewarding experience, and although it is an intense experience, it can be an uplifting, energizing experience. A stretching experience, if you will.” (Classical Candor)

 

and “the athleticism of both Nickel’s music and the performers is exhilarating … The orchestral writing is strikingly beautiful” (MusicWeb International)

 

Christopher’s arrangements and orchestrations include the score for the video game Advent Rising (Michael Richard Plowman and Tommy Tallarico, composers) recorded at Paramount Studios with the Hollywood Studio Symphony and Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the films Edison and Leo (Utah Studio Symphony), Treasure Guards (Budapest Scoring Orchestra), A Lonely Place to Die (members of the London Symphony), and Age of Heros (starring Sean Bean). He has also arranged and orchestrated for Scrap Arts Music (Winnipeg Symphony), and through his work with Tim Janis, Christopher has lent his orchestrations and arrangements to top artists such as Hayley Westenra, The Corrs, Jackie Evancho, and many of Mr. Janis’ PBS specials and albums.

 

 

“…engaging and compelling…music that deserves a wide audience!”

The Province Newspaper

 

His awards include seven SOCAN Awards, the 2004 Gold Medal at the Park City Film Music Festival, the 2002 Golden Key International Performing Arts Award for Musical Composition, two 2009 JPF awards for “Best Contemporary Classical Album” as well as “Best Contemporary Classical Song”, fourteen Leo Award nominations and two wins for his film and television music, and a Western Canadian Music Award nomination in 2021 for “Concertos for Oboe”.