Pianist Christian Bohnenstengel feels equally at home in a wide range of musical genres. He was recently featured as soloist in Ludwig van Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Orchestra of Southern Utah, and in Richard Adinsell’s Warsaw Concerto with the Southern Nevada Symphony Orchestra. Christian is a founding member of Southern Utah University’s faculty jazz combo Kind of Blue and frequently performs with jazz ensembles and musicians throughout southern Utah. Praised as “a master of contrasts” (Aalener Nachrichten) and for his ability to “put the audience into a state of sheer awe” (Gmünder Tagespost), Christian’s performances have taken him all over the United States, to South America, Asia, and to Europe.

Christian has performed on public radio, and he has presented at state, regional, national and international conferences. David DeBoer Canfield (Fanfare Magazine) remarked about his Albany Records CD Set No Limits with clarinetist Dr. Jessica Lindsey that the “piano parts are superbly rendered by Christian Bohnenstengel, whose artistry also greatly impresses me.” His latest recordings are Jazz Hands II with the Shawn Owens Project Trio and Southern Utah Jazz Collective. They feature his own compositions and have been met with rave reviews. Glenn Webb (Dixie State University) thought that the “rise and fall of the melodic line [of the tune Indigo] pulls on the heartstrings,” and Professor Johnny P (Professor Johnny P’s Juke Joint) believes that “If you’ve ever seen a sky full of stars that stretches the entire horizon, this [Indigo] is the song that would be playing in your brain.”

Christian received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Missouri Western State University. He earned Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His primary teachers include Jerry Anderson and Mark Clinton (piano), Quentin Faulkner (harpsichord and organ), and Tad Weed (jazz piano). He has been Director of Keyboard Studies at Southern Utah University since 2011, and his students have been accepted to a number of graduate programs from the University of Oregon in the Pacific Northwest to the Royal College of Music in London and in between.