Biography

Dr. Chris Combest serves as Assistant Professor of Music at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN, where he leads an active career as a performer and educator. In addition to teaching applied tuba, he conducts the MTSU euphonium-tuba ensemble, instructs brass chamber music, and performs with the MTSU Faculty Brass Quintet. Before joining the music faculty at MTSU, he served on the faculties of the University of Texas-San Antonio, Southern Illinois University, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Principal Tuba with the Nashville Opera, Combest has performed with the Indianapolis Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Lexington Philharmonic, Illinois Symphony, Chattanooga Symphony, Dallas Wind Symphony, the Tone Road Ramblers, and various artists, including film composer John Williams, the Canadian Brass, and Broadway star Audra McDonald. In addition to his studio session work in Nashville, he can be heard on broadcasts for National Public Radio, the BBC, and recordings for Sony and Disney. Some of his most recent recording credits include videogame soundtracks for Destiny 2: Witch Queen, Aliens: Fire Team Elite, and the film “13 Lives” directed by Ron Howard. MOSAIC, his latest solo recording released in late 2022, is available on iTunes and Spotify. His previous recording, Under Tennessee Skies (2020) was awarded a Silver Medal for Outstanding Achievement by the Global Music Awards (2021), and a nomination for the Roger Bobo Award for Excellence in Recording (2021) by the International Tuba Euphonium Association.

Dr. Combest’s students have won ITEA Competitions; placed in the artist and young artist divisions of the Leonard Falcone International Solo Competition; are members of U.S. military bands; and occupy college teaching positions. He has adjudicated in various international solo competitions, such as the Leonard Falcone Euphonium-Tuba Competition, the Asociación Española de Tubas y Bombardios (AETYB), and the International Tuba Euphonium Association Competition. He has performed at various national and international conferences, festivals, and workshops, including the International Tuba Euphonium Conference, the Burgos Chamber Music Festival, and the U.S. Army Band Tuba-Euphonium Workshop in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Leonard Falcone International Euphonium Tuba Competition, where he serves as the Tuba Competitions Music Chair and is a Life Member of the International Tuba Euphonium Association (ITEA). Dr. Combest holds a B.M. from Eastern Kentucky University, an M.M. from the University of Louisville, and a D.M.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His teachers include Roger Bobo, Mark Moore, John Jones, and Jim Willett.

Chris Combest is a Performing Artist and Clinician for Melton Meinl Weston and B&S instruments.