Chris was appointed to the trumpet section of Hong Kong Philharmonic by Edo de Waart in 2005.
Growing up in the UK he received his earliest musical training from his father as a cornet player in The Salvation Army and went on to fulfil a boyhood ambition of becoming a member of the SA's International Staff Band. His first exposure to orchestral playing came through membership of the Brighton Youth Orchestra with whom he performed Hummel's Trumpet Concerto.
He undertook undergraduate studies at the Royal College of Music which included an exchange year at the Manhattan School of Music, and postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music where he received the coveted Dip RAM award “for an outstanding final recital.” His professors included Malcolm Smith, Andrew Crowley, Robert Sullivan, Paul Beniston, Paul Archibald, Howard Snell and James Watson.
Chris was singled out for praise by the South China Morning Post for a “brilliantly executed” posthorn solo in Mahler's Third Symphony with the Hong Kong Philharmonic conducted by Edo de Waart in 2010. He has performed at the BBC Proms with the Hallé Orchestra and Sir Mark Elder, has been a guest principal trumpet with the Macau Orchestra under Lü Jia, and prior to moving to Hong Kong had worked with the Ulster Orchestra and the European Union Chamber Orchestra.
A keen solo performer since his teenage years, Chris regularly gives recitals and has been a featured soloist with Collegium Musicum Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Wind Ensemble. He is a member of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Brass Quintet and can also be heard on albums by Cantopop stars Ivana Wong and Hacken Lee.
As a teacher Chris serves on the faculties of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the Hong Kong Baptist University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He has also been a guest at the Silpakorn University in Thailand for a week of teaching and masterclasses.
In 2013 Chris was elected as an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM), awarded to “former students who have made a significant contribution to the music profession.”