We recently connected with Ross Christopher and have shared our conversation below.

Ross, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Oh gosh, I’ve actually been fortunate to work on a bunch of meaningful projects throughout the years, but I’ll focus on a more recent one, from this past year. Over a year ago, during the build-up to the senseless Russian invasion of Ukraine, I had this idea to write and record a collaborative album with ambient artist and Texas native, City of Dawn. We would compose an instrumental album that teetered between the complexities of war, loss, peace, and hope. It was our hope that this album would provide a backdrop to the ugliness, ruthlessness, and brutality of war, while also maintaining dignity of the individual(s), and hope for a peaceful future. City of Dawn recorded the beautiful and brooding ambient beds, which serve as the foundations of each song. I then composed and recorded the strings and melodies to bring each song to life. We decided to call the album, Wider than the Sky, because it encompasses the expansiveness of life and love. Each song tells a story that builds into the broader story of the entire project. I couldn’t be happier with how it all turned out. You can listen to it on all streaming platforms.

Ross, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Ross Christopher. I live in St. Louis, MO with my wife and two daughters. I grew up playing music at a very early age – I actually started playing the violin when I was 3 years old. In college I started writing music and touring with bands and recording string arrangements for various artists. For the next decade or more, I was touring the country, playing thousands of shows with artists such as Sleeping at Last, RAC, Jars of Clay, Andrew Belle, Colony House, Guster, The Wallflowers, Robert Randolph, The Black Crowes, Kishi Bashi, Sucre, and many, many more.

In 2019 I released my first completely instrumental album, called Antagonist, and within weeks of its release, I was signed to Heart Dance Records, which specializes in ambient/instrumental music. They really were a perfect fit for the music I was composing. To date, I’ve recorded 18 albums and my music and string performances have been featured on Grammy Award winning songs, films, documentaries, and television (Grey’s Anatomy, Reign, HUB Network, Sirius XM, United Airlines, JetBlue, and more). I absolutely love to tell vivid stories through my orchestral compositions, and I hope that I can continue to create deep emotional connections with listeners through incredibly visual and evocative songwriting.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Of late, I would say catharsis. Without a doubt, it’s the ability to observe and create a response that’s both cathartic for myself, and that I know will also resonate and provide catharsis for others. Because my most recent music (since 2019) has been instrumental, I’ve been able to create sonic representations of the emotions, locations, warnings, hope, and dreams, that I’m feeling.

I love the immediate tug I feel to write after I experience something emotional, see something in the news that triggers a response, travel to a new country and am reminded again of how vast and beautiful different people and cultures are. I love the process of story-boarding my ideas and turning those into melodies and harmonies – exploring different instrumentation(s) to paint vivid pictures and to tell unique stories, without the use of words. I can’t imagine bottling that up or hoarding those feelings to myself. It’s a special kind of gift to be able to be a songwriter and I hope I never take that for granted.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I think it’s changed over time. For sure in the early years (if I’m being totally honest), I was trying to write what I thought other people wanted me to be saying, so that I could draw in the widest audience, get bigger gigs, and get signed by a major label. That has most definitely shifted. First of all, writing what I thought other people wanted to hear is a recipe for failure. You’re not being yourself. You’re chasing something artistically that’s fake and shiny.

I’ve learned though, that brutal honesty, clarity, relationships, and experimentation, have led to the most rewarding projects and experiences. I’ve been able to work with some incredible artists/bands, because I was first able to become friends and build a mutual trust. That trust has led to working on numerous songs together, tours, and lifelong friendships. And just like any other industry, networking is vital for songwriters. You’ve got to strip yourself of intense competition with other writers and learn to collaborate and listen to feedback. One introduction leads to another and another, and before long, you’re working on projects you only dreamed of.

I want to continue telling stories and creating worlds that inspire curiosity and wonder. I want my music to instill a sense of exploration, inclusivity, and beauty. I want it to speak to our beautiful differences and our surprising commonalities. I want my music to continue to thread a story about nature and all of the incredible people and cultures I’ve experienced from travel. I want my music to look forward and contribute to the world I want to create.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rosschristopher.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rosschristopher/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosschristophermusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosschristopher
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT18yPRnADFdJjnUIBmrFzQ
• Other: spotify – https://open.spotify.com/artist/44jyylTQIB8qkPlQUHI614?si=0SUUXCNUT6e8vKPFNadz_w itunes – https://music.apple.com/us/artist/ross-christopher/292934720