Christopher-Joe McCann

Christopher-Joe McCann is an up-and-coming composer from Northern Ireland. He started primarily as a drummer and later went on to develop his vocal skills, also finding a passion for composition and sound design.

As a musician, Chris has been a member of the international award-winning choir Codetta, performing at BBC Last Night of the Proms and with Josh Groban at the Bord Gais Theatre in Dublin, winning the Cork International Choral Festival. As well as being part of Ulster University Choir & Chamber Choir with a notable performance in Carnegie Hall with Paul Mealor & DCINY.

He is also a singing drummer in Belfast’s local cover band KOOSKOOS; the band performs throughout Northern Ireland at weddings and corporate events and, in 2022, won the Bandbridge Buskfest Best Performance category. As a conductor, he has also led the MACS Supporting Children & Young People Choir and the Ulster University Jordanstown Community Choir.

Recently, he has worked on a significant project with Ulster University. This was based on the Witches of Islandmagee; the project included a range of media platforms, from graphic novels to VR. Creating a bespoke score and generating music for the stage; the score has been used in the VR and animated content. The project has gained much traction with notable press from the BBC.

In 2023, Chris released his first EP, "Happenstance", as the start point for a smorgasbord of music. It features a range of music from string quartets, songs and samples. In January 2024, Chris released an improv/free jazz album, "Pepperoni Hug Spot Presents Denial Is A River In Eygpt" picture this: instead of relying on algorithms and AI, our band of talented humans cook up tunes on the spot, fueled by a whirlwind of visual and text prompts. Each performance is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece, a testament to the magic of improvisation.