Christopher Eanes

Christopher Eanes is a musician and arts leader devoted to engaging people in the transformative art of choral singing. As President and CEO of Chorus America, he and his team work to strengthen the choral sector through strategic advocacy, groundbreaking research, and the annual convening of hundreds of choral leaders.

Throughout his twenty-five-year career, Chris has served in every role within the choral community—from singer and teacher to conductor, administrator, and board member—collaborating with youth, professional, and community organizations across the globe. His concert work has spanned four continents, taking him from the historic venues of Italy and Australia to the vibrant stages of South Africa and across the United States.

Chris launched his career teaching high school choir in northwest New Jersey before spending a transformative decade as Artistic Director and CEO of the Cincinnati Boychoir. There, he balanced world-class international collaborations with accessible community performances while nurturing the artistic and social development of more than 100 young singers annually.

Chris is the founder of Collegium Cincinnati, a professional choral-orchestral ensemble renowned for historically informed performance, and the co-founder of the Young Professionals Choral Collective alongside his wife, KellyAnn Nelson. Drawing from this innovative work, he regularly consults with choral organizations to help them discover and articulate their unique artistic vision.

From 2019 to 2024, Chris served as Executive Director of the Cathedral Choral Society, the symphonic choir-in-residence at Washington National Cathedral. Under his leadership, the organization expanded its programming to celebrate emerging and traditionally marginalized voices, attracting over 10,000 patrons annually and reaching audiences across 22 countries.

Chris discovered his passion for choral-orchestral music and conducting as a student at Occidental College, after beginning his musical journey as a pianist. He pursued advanced studies in Los Angeles and Milan before earning his doctorate in choral music from the University of Southern California. His scholarly contributions include peer-reviewed articles on music history and the boy's changing voice, emerging from innovative collaborative research with the Cincinnati Boychoir and Cincinnati Children's Hospital. He recently completed a term as column editor for Choral Journal.

Before entering the classroom in 2000, Chris harbored dreams of life as a professional sailor, having crossed two oceans in what could best be described as distressingly small vessels. Today, he proudly calls Washington, D.C.'s historic Brookland neighborhood home, where he resides with KellyAnn and their two children.

Christopher is located in Washington, DC (Eastern)