Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Christian Kriegeskotte (BFA, MM) is a composer, conductor and concert producer with over two decades of experience in film, television, video games, the recording industry and arts administration. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Music in composition from Carnegie Mellon University School of Music. His primary teachers have been Leonardo Balada, Nancy Galbraith, Fabien Levy and Grammy Award winning conductor Robert Page.

Christian started his formal education in 1998 as Carnegie Mellon University’s only performance major in the Highland Bagpipe where he studied with Pipe Majors Alasdair Gillies and James McIntosh, MBE.

Christian's compositions and arrangements have been commissioned and performed by the Houston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Opera, American Composers Orchestra, New York Pops, eighth blackbird, The Ethel Quartet, The Parker Quartet, Cuarteto Latinoamericano, The New York Miniaturist Ensemble, IonSound Project, Alia Musica, The Juno Orchestra Project, The Las Cruces Symphony (Ming Luke, conductor), Duquesne University Trombone Choir, Duquesne University Trumpet Studio and Carnegie Mellon Jazz Choir. His original music is featured in the video arcade game 'Nicktoons Nitro' developed by Raw Thrills Entertainment in collaboration with Nickelodeon Studios.

An experienced studio orchestra musician, copyist, orchestrator and arranger, Christian received incredible training in the field working for Jo Ann Kane Music Service. There, he worked alongside some of Hollywood’s most legendary composers including John Williams, John Debney, Marco Beltrami, Danny Elfman, Alf Clausen and many others.

Christian's film and television credits include Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Stephen Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, Robert Rodruiguez’s Sin City, the animated feature film Robots, Idiocracy, Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Skeleton Key, The Longest Yard, The World’s Fastest Indian, The Interpreter, Hide and Seek, Meet the Fockers, The Pacifier, Red Eye, XXX 2: State of the Union, Ice Princess, The Fantastic Four, Elektra and others. Christian additionally prepared music for two seasons of The Simpsons, Family Guy, King of the Hill and for the debut season of American Dad. Additional credits include orchestral charts for Kanye West, medley scores for the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and charts for Paul Anka's 2005 album 'Rock Swings.'

As a concert producer, Christian has worked on stage and on tour with EGOT and Pulitzer Prize winner Marvin Hamlisch, conductor Lorin Maazel, Broadway stars Betty Buckley and Renée Elise Goldsberry, Sting, Laufey, Ben Folds, Guster, Celtic Woman, and others.

In 2023, as sole composer and arranger, Christian music directed "The Glorious Succession of Frzy" in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and EMMY Award winning rapper, Frzy. Christian is a voting member of The Recording Academy and serves as a mentor for Grammy U. Since 2013, Christian has been a regular contributor to The American Composers Forum's contemporary music publication I Care If You Listen.

James Nova joined the Grammy award-winning Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 2009 as second/utility trombone. In 2012, Nova made his solo debut with the PSO, performing Henri Tomasi’s Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra. Prior to that, he was a member of the Utah Symphony Orchestra where he served eight seasons as assistant principal/second trombone.  

Since 2012, James Nova has found a new passion in multitrack recording, also known as "overdubbing." Overdubbing is a process by which a musician records all the parts of a piece of music one by one and layers the recordings on top of each other to create a full ensemble. Nova has released dozens of stunning and virtuosic tracks of his own challenging arrangements of exciting repertoire for trombone choir. The arrangements employ many different trombones: contra bass, bass, tenor, small tenor, alto, and even soprano trombones! 

James Nova has had a lifelong love of John Williams’ film scores and in December of 2017, he released a new overdub album for trombone choir, A Fall from Light to Dark. Through the chosen moments of John Williams’ masterful scores, this album musically chronicles the rise and descent of Anakin Skywalker as he transforms into Darth Vader. Truly a one-man show, this album’s transcriptions, playing, recording, editing, mixing and mastering were all done by Nova himself. 

James Nova has always been passionate about music education. When not on stage at Heinz Hall with the Pittsburgh Symphony, he can be found at the Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University where he is brass coordinator and adjunct trombone faculty, as well as the brass coach of the Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestras. Given their widespread popularity, Nova’s recordings are playing an impactful role in inspiring the next generation of musicians and budding recording artists and he is frequently invited to teach outside the region. Since 2012, he has completed more than 82 visits to prominent festivals (such as the International Trombone Festival, American Trombone Workshop, and the Korea Trombone Festival, among others) and reputable educational institutions (such as the Curtis Institute of Music, Juilliard School of Music, and New England Conservatory, among others) as the featured artist and educator in concerts, masterclasses, and clinics. 

James Nova studied with Glenn Dodson at the Curtis Institute of Music followed by study with Norman Bolter at the New England Conservatory of Music. While in Boston, Nova played regularly with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops Orchestra, including recordings and television broadcasts as both principal and second trombone.  

James Nova is an S.E. Shires Artist and performs on his signature line of Greg Black Mouthpieces. 

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James Rodgers has been the Principal Contrabassoonist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra since September of 2001. Formerly, he was the Principal Bassoonist with the Jacksonville Symphony, Associate Principal Bassoonist with the Florida Orchestra, Second Bassoonist with the Houston Symphony, and Contrabassoonist with the Colorado Symphony. Summer activities have included the Grand Tetons Music Festival, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Colorado Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute and Tanglewood Music Center. He studied bassoon with Norman Herzberg at the University of Southern California, and with Benjamin Kamins at the Rice University Shepherd School of Music. He also studied bassoon with Andrew Radford, and contrabassoon with Gregg Henegar

A founding member of the Pittsburgh Reed Trio, Jim has performed to critical acclaim. Their many and varied concerts have been heard locally, nationally and abroad. Jim also enjoys opportunities for study and performance on his Heckelphone, a rare double-reed instrument. As a pioneer of electric/acoustic bassoon and contrabassoon development, Jim is ever creatively exploring the possibilities of his instruments' capabilities, both in sound and genre.

Jim serves on the faculty of the Duquesne University Mary Pappert School of Music. He has also served on the faculty of Seton Hill University, Florida Southern College and Clearwater Christian College. In addition to a home studio, Jim is the woodwind coach for the Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestra.

Jim lives in Moon Township with his wife, Sue, a clarinetist and functional medicine nutritionist, and their feline family.

Shannon Fitzhenry began her violin studies at the age of two, and made her solo debut when she was fourteen with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Fitzhenry has soloed with the Hilton Head Symphony, the Miami Summer Festival Orchestra, Charleston’s Piccolo Spoleto Orchestra, and the Peabody Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Fitzhenry has received fellowships at the Aspen Music Festival, the Tanglewood Institute, and Spoleto Festival USA. She has held numerous Concertmaster positions, including Concertmaster of the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Andris Nelsons, the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, and the Peabody Symphony Orchestra.

After graduating from the Peabody Conservatory in 2018, Ms. Fitzhenry was appointed Concertmaster of El Paso Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Principal Second Violinist of Symphony in C and the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra.

Ms. Fitzhenry currently resides in Pittsburgh as a 2022 Season musician with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.