Chris Palmer was born in the Hague, Netherlands, of Canadian parents. When he was four years old, his family moved to London, England. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London, and later at Ottawa University.

As a professional bassoonist he has played in many orchestras and ensembles, including the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Since 1985 he has been a member of Symphony Nova Scotia, and he has occasionally performed with the orchestra as a soloist. He also plays piano and organ, and has been active in the community as a teacher, coach, and conductor.

Chris is also a composer and arranger. His orchestral works include For Those in Peril on the Sea, Ships and Flags, Light In The Forest (for the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra), and his most recent commission: Concerto Haligonia for Symphony Nova Scotia’s 40th anniversary (2023/24).

As an arranger, Chris has written orchestral accompaniments for East Coast artists of diverse backgrounds who have performed with Symphony Nova Scotia, from Lennie Gallant and the Barra MacNeils to Buck 65 and El Viento Flamenco. His arrangements of Leonard Cohen songs for the Blue Engine
String Quartet with Cliff LeJeune have been performed many times, and recorded and broadcast by the CBC. He has also arranged Gordon Lightfoot songs for J.P. Cormier. For the Rhapsody Quintet he has arranged Christmas music, Broadway, Beatles, and Abba.

Q&A with Chris 

How did you become interested in classical music?
I grew up in a family that loved classical music and played it as well. As a child I was taken to many operas and concerts – I grew up in London, which was a great place to see those sorts of things.

Do you play any other instruments?
I play the piano and the organ, and I did play drums in a rock band as a teenager. Also, at the age of 40, I took up the violin, studying it for two years – primarily to learn how to write for string instruments. I never amounted to much on the violin (I wasn’t a grown-up prodigy), but I learned what I needed to.

What do you do in your spare time?
I have always liked to be active and outdoorsy. My Golden Retriever, Cabot, makes sure I don’t stay indoors all day, whatever the weather. I’m also very involved in church activities. I also enjoy gardening – I’m not very good at it, but I take satisfaction in every success.

What are you listening to right now?
I love good music – classical, jazz, folk, and the best popular music. I listen to it all, although mainly classical music that I don’t get to play.

What’s your favourite movie?
It changes by the day, but some of my enduring favourites are A Man for All Seasons, Fellini’s La Strada, and It’s a Wonderful Life. I’m also very much into the great silent movies – Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd are brilliant!

What would you do if you couldn’t be a musician?
I can hardly imagine not being a musician, but vet medicine would be a great vocation for another life. Or any work in which I could make a valuable contribution.