CHRISTIAN AMONSON
SCORE PRODUCER/MIXER

Christian Amonson specializes in recording, producing, and mixing orchestral music. A member of the Screen Scoring faculty at USC, Christian has recorded and mixed over 3000 orchestral, choral, and chamber projects in 1000+ studios, scoring stages, concert halls, and sacred spaces. He can see sound (not synesthesia) and is a pioneer of new techniques for capturing 3-dimensional mixes. His work emphasizes balance, blend, and bloom.

"You changed the way I hear orchestral music."
Emma Dayhuff, Recording Engineer, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra

What people say.

“Just wanted to say a huge thank you for taking our feedback and for getting Christian to teach us. The first class was incredible and I learned so much already.” USC Screen Scoring

“How do you do it?! I’ve worked with the same scoring orchestra before, and your recording makes them sound twice as big. Thank you so much for going.” Composer

“A level of recording we’ve never had before.” The President’s Own U.S. Marine Band

“I didn’t like our recordings before this. But you are a wizard. I feel like a kid in a candy shop.” Carl St. Clair, Music Director, Pacific Symphony

”Our other engineer says this isn’t even possible, but I know you’ve done it before. Can you help us?” LA Opera

"Nothing is ever beyond my expectations because, if you knew me, you’d know I always expect greatness from those around me in their work. THIS IS BEYOND MY EXPECTATIONS. Bravo, BRAVO, BRAVO!" Music Director

Christian has recorded icons like John Williams, Yo-Yo Ma, the LA Master Chorale, Lee Konitz (RIP), Roy Haynes (RIP), and more.

Before moving to LA, Christian served as the recording producer for “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band in DC, selected after winning a national audition of music mixers.

Besides orchestra, Christian produces choral and vocal projects, often recording with all performers (orchestra, choir, soloists) together in one room. like below:

What else do they say?

“Hey man- i just wanted to say congratulations on the fanfare recordings for the inauguration. Incredible man. I would kill for a live recording that sounds that good, so the fact that it's edited videos is mind-blowing. Incredible work man!”

“I may be embarrassing myself here, but I had to listen multiple times to get through this objectively without tearing up. You have blended the voices to achieve the exquisite unison we strive for live. The third verse just blossoms into shimmering glory. I can’t say enough wonderful things about this mix!Thank you for your work on this. Magnificent!”

“WOW! That is just amazing. Thank you all for coming in under the budget. I can’t say I recall a time when that has happened to us. :)”

“Thank you so much for these. I think it is incredibly thoughtful of you to do this -- and it shows how much you care for the people involved and the significance of that particular project and moment. Coupled with your enormously outstanding engineering and producing skills, it was just all around a pleasure in every respect. Working with you was enlightening and helped refine my approach as well - just by your feedback and observations. Thank you for choosing to invest into this industry as you do.”

“I’ll say it again: what you’ve done here is just extraordinary and this piece might be the finest audio mix we’ve heard yet.”

“Good Morning from your shadow conductor who has been lurking in the background absolutely stunned at the amazing work you and Mitch have been doing. Your attention to detail is mind-boggling. The audio files are incredible.”

FAQ WITH CHRISTIAN

I’d love to meet. What’s the best way? I can come to you (LA), meet near USC, or hop on Zoom.

How have you recorded in 1000 places? I know, right? Short answer: orchestras want me to come to to them. (The real number is higher. My dataset is missing five years and projects with the Marine Band. Wowsa.)

I’ve got a mix in progress for my current project already, but I’d like to get you involved. Do you do album mastering? Yes! I can master for release, or ideally — in addition to that — I can listen earlier and catch things along the way. I’m very good with QC. I sometimes share things directly with mixers so they aren’t on blast as I’m getting really picky. “I don’t know what you told [the mixer] after you listened, but he got us new mixes that sound incredible. Thank you so much! What are the next steps?”

I just had a recording session! Could you mix it? I wish I could, but mixing music I didn’t record feels like pushing a car uphill, and it’s not representative of what I can do. The recording session sets what is possible vs impossible, easy vs difficult, good blend vs bad bleed, natural vs forced, 3D vs fake-and-flat in the mix. Get the recording right, and mixing can feel like a victory lap.

I’m planning a project. When the best time to talk to you about it? Anytime! (Sooner is better.) We can brainstorm logistics, instrumentation, recording strategies, budgets, timelines, deadlines, collaborators, players, support staff, etc. Or just talk dates and location and lock-in the project on the calendar.

Do you do jazz? Big band? Totally. I was the engineer for NPR’s JazzSet at the Kennedy Center (right before it shut down - sigh), I cataloged thousands of discs for the Jazz Library Online, and The President’s Own had a big band and jazz combos. Annnd I used to play jazz drums way back when. Mixing a big band album now.

And you go to scoring sessions overseas? Oh yes! I’ll fly anywhere for a recording. I’ve been to Budapest the most, but also London, Vienna, and Prague. Currently planning projects in Asia.

Oldies but fun little interviews:

5 Questions with a Musician: Christian Amonson - Missy Curl

Behind the Scenes with Christian Amonson - Choral Arts Society of Washington