My dearest Chris (I`ll always still call you Dimitryi): All I can think about is why I had to miss your party last year in Munich. I thought my kids would be too loud, so I promised to come to the next one. The kids would grow older, and meanwhile you would post amazing nature…
For Christopher A great shadow has darkened the sky. The birds have begun their silent mourning. They sense the powerful moment of someone’s passing. Nature knows another spirit has retired from the earth, and we who remain behind veil our faces as we weep uncontrollably. Incomplete explanations force our minds to ask and ask again,…
I have felt lost ever since I read the tragic news of Christopher’s untimely passing. Looking at the lovely messages of remembrance have helped me to reinforce what I already knew – that Christopher was a one of a kind. I will never forget his incredible warmth, his infectious smile, his enthusiasm, his inclusivity, and…
During the two years I first knew Zeke at Dartmouth (his first and second years), he was voraciously curious, unfailingly kind, and unstoppable in his quest to learn. His extraordinary gifts spanned music and languages in particular, and he was an amazing teacher. Zeke sang in Handel Society, took conducting, and served as an assistant…
Christopher was my cool crazy cousin that took life by the reigns. Few people can say that they have followed and embraced their true passion in life. Chris did exactly that. I’ll never forget when he visited NJ for some type of family party (one of my sibling’s high school graduation I think) and he…
Here is a video of a premiere of mine that Christopher conducted. I originally wrote this piece for the conducting auditions at the RCM, which is when we first worked together. Before that, we would hang out around the RCM, go to concerts, or go to Imperial for a drink (and none of that changed!)…
I was blessed to include Christopher as one of my group of friends while studying abroad in Mainz in 2004. I remember his smile and laughter…he was always up for an adventure. While I have not seen him in person since, I have enjoyed watching him succeed and accomplish so much. His love of music…
I met Zeke in the early 2000s at New England Music Camp. We swam together in “swim for fit” (I was terrible and he was kind and encouraging) and traded jokes in orchestra (the viola section sat just below the oboes – mostly the jokes were about burning violas or burning oboes). I kept in…
I’m so sorry to hear the news. I had a chance to get to know Christopher when I was studying in Mainz, Germany as an exchange student in the winter semester 2003-2004\. He led me and other students (Sonja, Elaine and Aimee) to see ballet in Wiesbaden and that was amazing! We were spending the…
Chris and I met at his audition for RCM in 2017, we were both auditioning for the conductors course. Fast forward to August 2019 and Chris walks in smiling to the Darlington Conductor’s course which we both happened to be on too! Neither of us knew the other would be there. In typical Chris fashion,…