Jacques Offenbach Cello Duets
About Us
Paul Christopher
received his Bachelor of Music Education from the New England Conservatory of Music and his Master of Music in Cello Performance from the University of Memphis. His original articles have been published in American String Teacher, Bass World, The Jacques Offenbach Society Newsletter and Strings.
From 1989 to 2004 he was Principal Cello of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, Shreveport Opera, and a member of the Premier String Quartet. Simultaneously, from 1993 to 1999 he also served as Adjunct Lecturer of Low Strings at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. As a member of the Nashville String Machine Mr. Christopher has recorded with artists such as Faith Hill, Ricky Skaggs, Bruce Springsteen and George Strait.
In 2005 Mr. Christopher joined the string faculty at Northwestern State University of Louisiana in Natchitoches, where he serves as Associate Professor of Cello and Music Theory. In the summers of 1993 to 2014 he performed as Assistant Principal Cello with the Peter Britt Festival Orchestra in Jacksonville, Oregon.
Mr. Christopher has appeared as a soloist with orchestras, performed
guest artist recitals and masterclasses, and presented at conferences throughout Louisiana, as well as, in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panamá, and South Korea.
Milovan Paz
started violoncello lessons at the age of eleven with Ramon Ramiez in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. While Mr. Paz was finishing high school, he simultaneously earned an Artist Diploma from Escuela de Musica Victoriano Lopez graduating with honors and awards. In the same year Mr. Paz began his professional career performing with San Pedro Sula's String Chamber Orchestra and Sinfonica Centroamericana.
In the fall of 2010 Mr. Paz began attending Northwestern State University of Louisiana under the tutelage of Associate Professor Paul Christopher. During his tenure, Mr. Paz won the Concerto Competition twice soloing with the Natchitoches Northwestern Symphony Orchestra. In May 2014 he graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Music Performance and then in May 2016 he graduated with a Master's degree in Music Performance.
Since 2011 Mr. Paz performs with the Marshall, Longview, Shreveport, Texarkana symphonies, as well as, South Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and Rapides Symphony Orchestra. Since 2014 he works in the Natchitoches Parish Schools as a Talent Education Teacher.
Ruth Drummond
was principal cellist of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra and Shreveport Opera. She is a member of the Baroque Artists of Shreveport, the West Edge String Quartet, and the Evangeline Piano Trio. Ruth has been a soloist with Centenary's Camerata at Yale University, the Hurley Chamber Orchestra, Marshall (TX) Symphony, and most recently with the Shreveport Symphony in Haydn's Sinfonia Concertante.
Ruth and colleague Paul Christopher have released five recordings of Jacques Offenbach duos for two cellos for the Human Metronome label. The first, TheGift of Melody was used in the 2007 ZCZ film production of Toulouse Lautrec - The Full Story for BBC television. In 2010 the West Edge String Quartet released their recording of Christmas Around the World for Centaur Records, which has been featured several times on National Public Radio's Performance Today.