From Feb. 28 to March 1, Oklahoma City University welcomed guest artists Dr. Christopher Willis and Elyse Willis as artists in residency.
Christopher Willis is a composer who was born in Australia and raised in the UK. He attended the Royal Academy of Music in London where he was trained as a concert pianist. He later received his PhD in Musicology at Cambridge University.
He has worked on several projects such as “Veep,” “The Death of Stalin,” “The Lion Guard,” “Disney Mickey Mouse,” “Winnie the Pooh,” “Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part Two,” “X-Men: First Class,” “Shrek Forever After,” and many more fan-favorites.
Christopher has won four Annie Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Music in a TV/Broadcast Production for “O Sole Minnie,” “Mumbai Madness,” “Felíz Cumpleaños,” and “The Scariest Story Ever: A Mickey Mouse Halloween Spooktacular!” which were all on “Disney Mickey Mouse.” He also won the 2014 ASCAP Film and Television Music Award for Top Rated Television Series Composer for his work on “Veep.” In 2017 he won the International Film Music Critics Association Award for Best Original Score in a Comedy Film with “The Death of Stalin.”
On Feb. 28, Christopher Willis spoke about compositional life with students of Project 21: Music for the Twenty First Century in the Wimberly Room.
Elyse Willis is a soprano singer, vocal contractor, and lyricist who was born in Los Angeles and raised in Porterville, California. She attended UCLA and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA in Music.
Elyse has been credited with 78 music department credits on IMDb and has worked on several projects like “Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker,” “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Last Jedi,” “Frozen II,” “Suicide Squad,” “Gravity Falls,” “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3,” and many more.
On Feb. 28 from 4-5:30 p.m., Elyse had a vocal master. Christopher and Elyse then held a joint presentation on March 1 at 1 p.m.
Christopher and Elyse are married and currently run Arbury Ward Studio in Encino California.
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