Chris Muller (Nijmegen, 1998) is a Dutch pianist, composer, and arranger. As a jazz musician with a passion for orchestral music, Chris has shared the stage with many leading musicians from the Dutch jazz scene and often takes part of various orchestras, including the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw, the Paradox Jazz Orchestra, and his own ensemble: the Chris Muller Bigband.
As a bandleader, pianist, arranger, and conductor, Chris leads the Chris Muller Bigband, which was founded in 2021 and is one of the youngest professional big bands in the scene. The band has performed at multiple venues and festivals and recorded its debut album, Turning Thoughts, at Wisseloord Studios in the spring of 2023. This album was presented in June 2024 at the BIMHUIS in Amsterdam, featuring several guest soloists, including Jasper Blom.
As a composer and arranger, he works with ensembles including the Metropole Orkest, the Royal Netherlands Air Force Orchestra, and the Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands Navy. He has also collaborated with international soloists such as Randy Brecker, Dick Oatts, and Bill Laurance. In 2024 he won the first edition of the Conservatorium Talent Award – Ruud Bos Challenge (details), and in 2025 he received the prestigious Rogier van Otterloo Award (details). The jury described him as:
“Chris Muller is a passionate composer, arranger, and bandleader in the tradition of the great big bands. With a keen ear for detail, rich colors, and subtle phrasing, he seamlessly weaves sections into a musical whole. His craftsmanship, dedication, and tasteful style make him an ideal writer and leader of larger ensembles.”
— Jury Rogier van Otterloo Award (translated from Dutch)
Starting at a young age with classical piano, Muller later made the transition to jazz. Muller made the transition to jazz. At the age of twenty, he completed a bachelor’s degree in Applied Physics at Eindhoven University of Technology, after which he decided to fully devote himself to music. At the Conservatory of Amsterdam, he pursued a double major in Jazz Piano and Arranging, graduating cum laude in both in June 2023. Since then, he has been active as a (guest) conductor and educator with various orchestras and educational projects across the Netherlands, including the Conservatory of Amsterdam, Codarts Rotterdam, the Royal Conservatoire The Hague and Conservatorium Tilburg. In addition, Chris serves as artistic director of Jong JOC, the youth orchestra and educational program of the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw.
Since then, Chris has been actively involved as a (guest) conductor and educator with orchestras and educational projects throughout the Netherlands, such as at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and at the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw as artistic leader of the Jong JOC education project.
