Praised by Brass Bridge Magazine for his “wonderful sense of musicianship and virtuosic technique,” Dr. Chris Combest serves as Associate Professor of Tuba and Assistant Director in the Middle Tennessee State University School of Music. A Life Member of the International Tuba Euphonium Association (ITEA), he is also President of the Leonard Falcone International Euphonium and Tuba Festival, one of the world’s premier low brass festivals and competitions.
 

As a performer, Dr. Combest is active as a soloist, orchestral, and chamber musician. A former tubist with the Louisville Orchestra, Nashville Opera, Victoria Symphony, and the Ash Lawn Opera and Wintergreen Festivals, he has also performed with the Nashville Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Chattanooga Symphony, and Dallas Winds. He has collaborated with artists including the Canadian Brass, Audra McDonald, and film composer John Williams.
 

Over the last twenty years, he has commissioned more than thirty new works for the tuba by composers such as Katahj Copley, Barbara York, John Stevens, and Rodney Newton, and has recorded soundtracks for film, television, and video games. His solo albums Mosaic (2020) and Under Tennessee Skies (2023) received recognition from The American Prize and the Global Music Awards, along with nominations for the Roger Bobo Award for Excellence in Recording from the ITEA.
 

He holds degrees from the University of Illinois, University of Louisville, and Eastern Kentucky University, and studied with Roger Bobo, Mark Moore, John Jones, and James Willett. Dr. Combest is a Buffet Performing Artist for Melton Meinl Weston instruments.