Chris O'Hara
Chris O’Hara received his BM from Boston Conservatory and his Master of Music from Boston University. As an educator, he has served on staff at Maynard High School (Maynard, MA), Norwood High School (Norwood, MA), the Shenandoah Arts Academy (Winchester, VA), the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (Lenox, MA), The Festival de Musica de Camara (Aguascalientes, Mexico), and the International Institute and Festival at Round Top (Round Top, TX). Chris is a clinician for the Conn-Selmer Company and Denis Wick mouthpieces, mutes, and accessories and has presented numerous master classes and clinics around the country with Synergy and as a soloist. He performs exclusively on Bach Trumpets, the Conn Vintage One Flugelhorn, and Denis Wick mouthpieces and mutes, and can be heard on recordings on the Paraclete and AAR labels and has appeared on National Public Radio, NBC, and the Hallmark Channel.
Chris’s playing is described as "an awesome display of pure talent and musicality!" by the Park Rapids Concert Association. He began playing the trumpet at the age of nine in Bensenville, IL. By the age of 16, he had already formed his first brass quintet and performed several concerts throughout the greater Chicago area; Chris was honored by WGN television in 1995 for his efforts with that ensemble. Then, at 17, he was accepted to The Boston Conservatory and formed his second brass quintet, the Synergy Brass Quintet. As a founding member of the Synergy Brass Quintet, Chris has performed over 1,500 concerts covering 47 states and four countries at notable festivals such as the Ravinia Music Festival, the Tanglewood Music Festival, the Bethlehem Musikfest, the Boston Early Music Festival, the Festival de Camara de Musica in Aguascalientes Mexico, and the Nagoya Conservatory of Music in Japan. In addition, he has performed with distinguished artists including the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, The Boston Pops, and Natalie Cole.
Outside of his efforts with the Synergy Brass Quintet, Chris has performed extensively throughout the United States, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and the Federation of Russia. In 1996, he performed as part of the American debut of works by Gabrieli and Bassano that were rediscovered at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice. As an advocate for new music, Chris has commissioned several works including Robert Martin’s Four Places in New York for two trumpets. In addition to performing, Chris is an avid arranger, having arranged over 100 works for brass quintet, brass and organ, trumpet ensemble, and solo trumpet.