Junior Christopher Raymond has a passion for music. He picked up the Bassoon at the age of 13, after originally starting on the Oboe in beginning band. Chris also played the Tenor Saxophone in high school in order to take part in marching band.

Here at Millikin, Chris plays Bassoon in the Millikin Wind Ensemble, Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, and the Eidolan Woodwind Quintet. In the past year, Chris has greatly made his name known. Not only did he win the 2012-2013 Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra Concerto-Aria competition, but he was also a finalist in Millikin’s Hollis Prize competition, which came with a $500 cash prize.

Away from Millikin, Chris plays in the Urbana Pops Orchestra in Urbana, Il, and has been the principal bassoonist for the past two years. Recently, Chris has been asked to play with the South Shore Orchestra out of Valparaiso, Ind. on tour in China. The trip will take place over winter break, and he will travel through eight different Chinese cities and play with the orchestra in seven of them. “By the time this trip is over, I will have performed in more concerts in major Chinese cities than American cities,” Raymond said.

Chris has many favorite parts of performing, in both ensembles and solos he achieves his goal of musical excellence. As a member of an ensemble, he becomes one small, yet important, piece of the puzzle. The bassoon is somewhat of a rarity in the musical world. To Chris, playing the bassoon as a soloist is sharing his passion with the audience. He says, “In my head, it is as if I am trying to convince the audience through my music that the bassoon is the coolest thing in the world!” When he graduates, he plans to further his studies of the bassoon in graduate school. He dreams of being a bassoon professor by day and a performer by night.