Christa Frye
“I love the clarity of sound and richness of tone Chedeville Mouthpieces produce. Knowing that each phrase played consists of the timbral and dynamic refinement I have been searching for years gives me the ultimate confidence when practicing, teaching, and performing on stage.”
Biography:
Christa Frye is currently serving as Assistant Professor of Music at Bethel University in McKenzie, Tennessee where she teaches clarinet, woodwind methods, music theory, and aural skills, while also serving as the faculty advisor to the National Association for Music Education-Collegiate chapter.
Dr. Frye currently performs as part of Duo Atypique, a clarinet and trombone duo with her husband. Additionally, she has performed with the Faculty Woodwind Trio, the UTM Chamber Players, the University Trio, and continues to perform with the Paducah Symphony.
Dr. Frye is in demand as a performing artist across the southeastern United States. In 2023, Duo Atypique commissioned a new work entitled On the Rim of Thin Places by Rachel DeVore Fogarty. In 2024, the U.S. premiere was given at the College Music Society’s Southern Chapter conference in Memphis, TN and the World Premiere took place at the International Trombone Festival in Ft. Worth, Texas. Throughout the 2021-2022 academic year, Dr. Frye embarked on a series of short tours of the southeastern United States where she gave masterclasses and performed concerts as part of Duo Atypique. In 2021, Duo Atypique performed at the International Trombone Festival in Columbus, GA where they gave the World Premiere of Souq! by Andrew Markel. In addition, Duo Atypique performed at the College Music Society Southern Regional Conference and the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors National Conference. In 2019, Duo Atypique performed at the International Trombone Festival in Muncie, IN and ClarinetFest in Knoxville, TN. In 2018, The University Trio gave a concert at the National Conference for the College Music Society in conjunction with the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors in Vancouver, Canada. Dr. Frye has also performed at the Annual Woodwind Day hosted by the University of Tennessee at Martin Woodwind Students’ Association, Marshall University’s Single Reed Day in Huntington, West Virginia, and as soloist with the Odessa College Band, in Odessa, Texas and Spring Valley High School Band in Huntington, WV. She has performed numerous recitals, including a special guest recital at Marshall University, in Huntington, West Virginia where she gave a masterclass to the clarinet students of Dr. Ann Marie Bingham.
Dr. Frye performs on RZ Capriccio clarinets, Chedeville Mouthpieces, and SCV Ligatures. Her primary clarinet teachers include Ann Marie Bingham, Gary Sperl, Deborah Bish, Frank Kowalsky and Richard MacDowell.
Dr. Frye holds a B.M. in Music Education from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, a M.M in Clarinet Performance from Florida State University, and a D.M.A. in Clarinet Performance from the University of Texas at Austin.
