Dr. Christopher Hughes is Director of Instrumental Studies and Associate Professor of Music at New Mexico State University. Hughes serves as conductor of the NM State Wind Symphony, Chamber Winds, and University Orchestra while teaching conducting and literature courses and guiding the instrumental performance and graduate conducting programs. Prior to this position, Dr. Hughes served as Chair of the Conducting and Ensembles Faculty for the College of Music at Mahidol University, a conservatory setting in Bangkok, Thailand. In this capacity, Hughes was conductor of the Mahidol Wind Symphony, Chamber Winds, and Symphony Orchestra while guiding the graduate programs in instrumental conducting. In addition to his university responsibilities, Hughes served as resident guest conductor for the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra. Prior to his move to Thailand, Dr. Hughes held positions on the faculties at Lander University and the University of Colorado at Boulder. Dr. Hughes’s former students hold conducting and teaching positions in China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, The Philippines, Burma, Mexico and throughout the United States.
Born on Bloomsday in Aspen, Colorado, Hughes's interest in the expressive beauty of music began early. He decided to pursue conducting as a profession after experiencing the artistry of many of the legendary conductors who were in residence at the Aspen Music School. In 2005 Hughes was awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in instrumental conducting and literature at the University of Colorado at Boulder where he was a student of world-renowned conductor and Distinguished Professor Allan McMurray.
Developing an impressive international profile, Dr. Hughes has conducted ensembles in concert on four continents including Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. He is in constant demand as a guest conductor and clinician and engagements have taken him to several US states and ten foreign countries including England, Ireland, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Indonesia. Dr. Hughes led the Mahidol Wind Symphony in a critically acclaimed performance during the proceedings of the15th World Saxophone Congress. This subsequently led to an invitation for the musicians to appear as the guest artist ensemble for the Australian National Ensemble Championships. Hughes has conducted at the Southeast Asian Youth Orchestra and Wind Ensemble Festival in Bangkok and the Honor Ensemble Festival of the Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asian Schools in Jakarta. Dr. Hughes was also honored to serve as guest conductor for the National Symphony Orchestra players of Taiwan during his invited visit to Chiayi City. In 2013 Hughes ventured to China to conduct the Directors Ensemble of Guangzhou Province and will appear in ShanXi, ShanDong, and Chengdu provinces in 2014. Known for his sensitive interpretation of music for large and small instrumental ensembles, Hughes's conducting has drawn praise from composers and conductors in the United States, Canada, Southeast Asia, and Australia. A champion of new music, Dr. Hughes has conducted numerous world and regional premieres and he has become a conductor of choice for contemporary works.
Prior to his doctoral conducting studies, Dr. Hughes focused his attentions on the field of instrumental music education. In 1997 he earned a master’s degree at the VanderCook College of Music in Chicago where he was a student of Dr. Charles Menghini and Dr. Roseanne Rosenthal. Graduating Magna cum Laude, Hughes earned a bachelor's degree in music from Western State Colorado University in 1994 after studies with Professor Emeritus John Kincaid. Hughes conducted two successful high school ensemble programs in his home State of Colorado. Honors included numerous awards for outstanding performance. Receiving international recognition, Hughes’s ensemble was invited on a multinational tour that included the first performance of American high school musicians at Her Majesty's Royal Military Music Festival in Birmingham, England. The trip also included a performance in Ireland as invited guests of the Lord Mayor of Dublin. Graduates of Dr. Hughes's school programs earned positions in college and university ensembles at twenty-seven separate institutions across the United States and many now hold degrees in music. In 1998, a 4000 square foot, state of the art, ensemble facility was completed and students petitioned the school to name the new room "Hughes Hall".
Dr. Hughes's scholarly activity includes the authorship of an ensemble repertoire manual that uncovers the evocative inspiration with in 100 selected pieces. His research regarding ensembles and conductors throughout Asia has drawn vast critical acclaim. The World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles recently published Hughes’s data in the First Edition of the 2014 Journal. This lead to an invitation to present a paper at the 21st Conference for Research in Blaeserorchester Music in Hammelburg, Germany in July, 2014. In addition, Dr. Hughes gave a research lecture at the College Band Directors National Association Regional Convention at the University of Arkansas in March, 2014. Dr. Hughes also delivered an ensemble repertoire selection clinic at the 2014 New Mexico Music Educators Association Convention. Hughes has also served as a faculty member for the Conn-Selmer Institute in Singapore.
Dr. Hughes has, on several occasions, been included in the Who's Who Among America's Teachers publication and, for the past 10 years, he has been listed in Who's Who in America. He was recently honored by being inducted into Who's Who In The World. Hughes's affiliations include the International Conductor's Guild, College Band Directors National Association, World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, Phi Mu Alpha, and Kappa Kappa Psi.