Recording producer, professor, and score mixer Christian Amonson has initiated a shift in the way that music is recorded and mixed. His ability to see sound is at the foundation of his work, striking a musical balance of realism/surrealism that our ears want to hear. His first orchestral recording was described as “The best quality yet.” (Fairfax Symphony Orchestra)

“I learned more in five minutes with you than I did with any other candidate.” (USC) Christian joined the faculty of USC’s Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles as a professor in Screen Scoring and Music Technology in 2022. His teaching, like his recordings, emphasize Perspective as a way to compose and create mixes that envelope the listener. “Just wanted to say a huge thank you for taking our feedback and for getting Christian to teach us. The first class was incredible and I learned so much already.” (composer, Screen Scoring)

His professional work includes recordings with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and John Williams, the Kansas City Symphony and Yo-Yo Ma, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields at Abbey Road Studios, and NPR's JazzSet at the Kennedy Center, as well as groups like the LA Opera, LA Master Chorale, Baltimore Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Pacific Chorale, National Orchestral Institute, National Music Festival, and others.

The Virginia Chorale was the first to notice the difference and awarded Christian a full-season recording contact at age 20, selected after they spent a season auditioning engineers, including those from Sony, NPR, WHRO, and the Virginia Symphony. At the same time, he was hired by Alexander Street Press to catalog 10,000 albums of orchestra, jazz, choir, band, world music for their database, which cemented his ability to see sound and identify specific techniques, mixes, and engineers [by ear]. He received his first major label credit at 21 for Bruce Hornsby’s album, Elevate. (Christian snuck into his concert and took photos, which were later included in the album….) At 26, Christian recorded for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with John Williams, revamping the recording system at Symphony Center to improve blend and balance while accommodating a 30x40 screen above the stage. Their engineer said, “You changed the way I hear orchestral music.”

”A level of recording we’ve never had before.” At 27, Christian participated in a nation-wide audition and was selected to serve as Recording Engineer for "The President's Own" United States Marine Band in Washington DC, where he produced recording sessions, video projects, the Emmy winning “All Star Band”, and audio for the 2017 Presidential Inauguration. “Working with you was enlightening and helped refine my approach as well - just by your feedback and observations. Coupled with your enormously outstanding engineering and producing skills, it was just all around a pleasure in every respect.” (USAF Bands)

”Our other engineer says this isn’t even possible, but I know you’ve done it before.” (LA Opera) In response to COVID-19, Christian trained and led a team of 55 composers, conductors, singers, and instrumentalists in the production of over 1,700 virtual cues and choirs for clients around the world. Critics reviewed: “I would kill for a live recording that sounds that good; the fact that it's edited videos is mind-blowing.” (ATU)

Christian continues to lead Arts Laureate, a production house specializing in audio and video for classical artists and ensembles, in conjunction with the record label Tōnsehen. He produces about 300 recordings per year, which have featured on TIME, BBC, NPR, and PipeDreams, and labels like Deutsche Grammophone, Bridge, Albany, MSR, and others. “We love working with you and the Arts Laureate team more than you will ever know.” (Talamantes-Wilkerson)

“I’ve been telling my team to be more like you. Loved your presentation.” (Changing the Narrative) Notable “public appearances” in the industry include “The Fundamentals of Orchestral Recording” for the League of American Orchestra national conference (2019), “The Secret Menu of Stereo Recording” at the Audio Engineering Society convention (2022), and “The Fundamentals of Wind Band Recording” at the Midwest Clinic (2022). Christian has also presented private workshops for the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Opera, UCLA, CSU Fullerton, CSU Long Beach, San Jose State University, Santa Clarita University, and others.

Christian volunteers as the mastering engineer for And We Were Heard, an initiative cultivating relationships between conductors and composers from historically under-represented communities.

When not recording, he can be found planting native wildflowers along the 105/405 or on the Marlow Moss Motorcycle in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Services:

Score Mixing (incl. Ambisonics and Dolby Atmos)
Recording and Mixing for Albums, Broadcast
Project Management (incl. video production)

Learn more:

5 Questions with a Musician: Christian Amonson - Missy Curl

Meet the New Faculty: Christian Amonson - USC Thornton School of Music

Behind the Scenes with Christian Amonson - Choral Arts Society of Washington

Christian Amonson Relies On Focusrite’s RedNet AM2 For Critical Orchestral And Choir Recordings - Focursite LTD

How to Reach 35 Million People... And Not Sell a Single Ticket - Christian Amonson