Christian X. M. McGhee, 25, is an American composer (film/tv, commercials), multi-instrumentalist, hailing from St. Louis, Missouri, now residing in New York City. Christian received a full tuition scholarship to the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, where he received his Bachelor's degree and Master's degree. His proficiency on a range of instruments, including drums, piano, and keyboards, as well as his expertise in classical and hand percussion, make him a truly versatile and skilled musician.

In April 2023, Christian was awarded BMI's Future Jazz Master Award & Ahrold Family commission at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) annual celebration of the Jazz Masters Fellows in Washington D.C. He presented the World Premiere of his Commission/Debut Album A Winged Resilience with his 20 piece orchestra to two sold-out audience's at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club on May 20, 2024. A Winged Resilience also received support from YoungArts. He premiered A Winged Resilience Part II to two sold-out audiences at Jazz St. Louis on July 12th & 13th, 2024. The shows were sponsored by World Wide Technology & The Steward Family Foundation. Christian was also a 2017 Steward Family Foundation Scholar.

Christian scored Delta’s Ad entitled “Home” featuring Viola Davis for the voice over. This was created in collaboration between the CDDP program and Wieden + Kennedy. It received a 2024 Tribeca X Award Official Selection.

Christian recently completed an intensive composition internship at Butter Music & Sound Composing for 2-3 projects each week, Scoring Commercials, & Creating Sonic Branding/Sound Design. Some of Butters clients include Apple, Statefarm, Google, Reddit, Coca Cola, Clash of Clans, Disney+, Nintendo Switch & Tiktok.

Christian has scored a number of film and television projects, currently the feature film documentary "Rebuilding the Dream" for PBS (2024), the short film "A New York Minute" for Adobe (2023), the award winning animated short “The King and The Pawn” and the drama short film “Upstate” starring Alice Kremelberg. Christian’s jazz composition “Remembrance” is featured in Justin Kelly’s upcoming feature film starring Alicia Silverstone (Batgirl). Christian is also a member of the Composers Diversity Collective, led by Michael Abels.

Christian has studied film scoring with Richard Sussman, Mike Verta and Mattia Chiappa, Conducting with Damien Sneed and Orchestration/Composition with Jim McNeely and Darcy James Argue. Christian completed a month long intensive workshop at NYU studying with Mac Quayle (Mr. Robot, Ratched), Sean Callery (24, Bones, Jessica Jones, Bull) Blake Neely (The Flash, Arrow, You, Riverdale, Blindspot), Nathan Barr (The Great, Carnival Row, Sneaky Pete), Michael Levine (Cold Case, Siren), Mark Snow (X Files, Smallville, Blue Bloods, The New Mutants). Through NYU and other programs Christian has attended Masterclasses with Terence Blanchard, Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, most Disney films), Lolita Ritmanis, Tom Hiel, Rob Simonsen, and Philip Rothman.

DRUMS:

Christian is also highly in demand as a drummer, performing in a variety of genres. he’s performed in a variety of genre’s from rock and jazz to funk and classical. He has experience performing solo shows as well as with large ensembles such as big bands and jazz philharmonic orchestras, showcasing his impressive musicianship and ability to adapt to any musical setting. Christian studied drums at Manhattan School of music with John Riley & Kendrick Scott.

He has had the opportunity to work with a number of world-renowned groups and artists such as Cynthia Erivo, Alvin Ailey Dance Company, Raehaan Bryce Davis, The 2017 Grammy Band, Barry Harris, Stefon Harris, J'Nai Bridges, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Joshua Redman, Joe Lovano, Aaron Goldberg, Linda May Han Oh, Jon Faddis, David Wong, Gerald Cannon, Jahari Stampley, Sasha Berliner, Joe Block, Victory Boyd, Infinity Song, Keyon Harrold, Ray Chew, Gideon King and City Blog.

He has performed at NPR's Tiny Desk (Home) and at the Vail, Newport, Montreal, Monterey, Toronto, Rochester, Washington D.C., SF Jazz and Exit Zero Jazz Festivals. He has also performed at well-known New York City venues including the Apollo, Blue Note, Dizzy's Club, Birdland, Smoke Jazz Club, The Django, and Smalls.

As a highly sought-after studio musician, Christian has recorded on his own projects, film scores, and various other projects at Berklee Power Station (formerly Avatar Studios), Bunker Studios, and his home studio, consistently delivering exceptional results and bringing artists' visions to life.