Born in 1982 in Barranquilla (Colombia) into a German-Colombian family of musicians, he began learning classical piano at the age of 5 with Colombian pianist Rosalba Reina de Villalón and later on harmony and music theory with his father Gunter Renz. By the time he was 13, he was already intensively occupying himself with Latin American and Caribbean music. A few years later, he won his first composition prize “Música Clásica Caribe 2000” with his work "Fantasía sobre el Río Sinú".

Since 2001, Christian Renz has been living in Hamburg, Germany working as a pianist, composer, arranger and music teacher. There, he studied with the renowned composer Wolf Kerschek and graduated with honours in Piano Jazz (Dipl.-Musikl.) and Composition (M.Mus.) at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater (HfMT). During his studies, his numerous awards included the “Germany Scholarship” (Deutschlandstipendium) and the “Oscar and Vera Ritter Stiftung Scholarship”.

He has also been guest lecturer of jazz theory and composition at the HfMT Hamburg, the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Universidad del Atlántico and the Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia.

In 2017, he was awarded the Contemporary Composition Prize from the City of Barranquilla for his work "Nocturno a la Bella" for piano and flute. In spring 2020, he commenced doctoral studies in Artistic Research with emphasis in Composition and Musicology.

His catalogue of compositions includes works for piano, solo voice and piano, mixed choir, chamber music, string orchestra, symphony orchestra, jazz and salsa ensembles. His works are influenced by Latin rhythms and the texture and harmony of both jazz and classical music.

Some recent professional references:

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• Lecturer, Masterclasses: 

HfMT in Hamburg, Universidad del Atlántico and Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia.

• Pianist:  
  United World Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Jan Degenhardt, HfMT Bigband Hamburg, Laeiszhalle, Schauspielhaus Hamburg, Joe Gallardo, Renz Ramos, Mete Mono, in addition to Germany and Colombia, several international concerts in the following countries: Spain, Latvia, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Tunisia, Italy.

• Salsa Pianist: 
  Maelo Ruiz, Cristian Fernández, Javier Vásquez, Rafu Warner, Manolo Lezcano.

• Composer & Arranger:  
  Jugendsinfonieorchester Mannheim, Speyer Kammerorchester, WDR Rundfunkorchester, NDR Bigband, Klazz Brothers, Wolf Kerschek, Kaiser Quartett.

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