Musicatlas
Christopher D. T. Lawhorne
Music
Mr. Lawhorne writes tonal music. He has a minimalistic approach to his music, but stays away from conforming to any one style. His music is very original and some classify it as "neo-romantic." He writes primarily for Wind Ensembles, Full Orchestra, Percussion Ensembles, and other small Chamber Groups.
Life
"Christopher D. T. Lawhorne is an American composer born on the 7th of July in 1990. Mr. Lawhorne enjoys writing music that is tonal and tries to convey a picture or a scene through his music."
Mr. Lawhorne is currently a senior Music Education and Piano Performance Major at Reinhardt University. Mr. Lawhorne serves as percussion section leader in the Reinhardt University Wind Ensemble and as principal timpanist in the Reinhardt Symphony Orchestra. He sings in the Chamber Choir and Concert Choir, and also serves as student conductor in those two ensembles.
In the summer of 2009, Mr. Lawhorne toured with the Madison Scouts, an organization associated with Drum and Bugle Corp International. In 2006, ’07, and ’08, he marched with Pariah Indoor Marching Percussion Theater which is a part of the Winter Guard International Circuit. In 2010, he performed as a guest with Tara Winds. Furthermore, Mr. Lawhorne enjoys composing original works. Three have been performed by Reinhardt performing ensembles, one of which was conducted by Mr. Lawhorne. Another piece was premiered at the 6th Annual Reinhardt Honor Winds Clinic under the direction of Colonel Lowell Graham. In addition to these musical endeavors, he is also a music theory and mathematics tutor on Reinhardt’s campus.
Mr. Lawhorne is a collegiate member of Music Teachers National Association as well as NAfME Collegiate (formally CMENC). In 2010 he was the Treasurer of the Reinhardt University NAfME chapter, and has served as President. During his term, the board has governed two band clinics, staffed local marching competitions, and hosted clinics given by professional music educators. He also is currently working towards connecting the Reinhardt CNAfME chapter with another university chapter out of state with the purpose of expanding the music network of the NAfME members at both schools.
Mr. Lawhorne was also inducted into the National Music Honor Society, Pi Kappa Lambda April of 2011, and is seeking to help establish two more chapters at Reinhardt: a Percussion Society, and a branch of Mu Phi Epsilon - a professional music fraternity. Mr. Lawhorne has also received the Outstanding Music Education Award sponsored by Phi Beta Mu. He is currently the Etowah High School percussion instructor, and has gained experience in teaching piano at studios in Alpharetta and Roswell. Christopher enjoys his teaching endeavors because he feels that even if he can impact one student a day in a positive way – as little as making the student smile – then he has done his job successfully. Mr. Lawhorne feels that students need to enjoy what they are studying in order to get the most out of their education experiences.
