Christian L. Stahr

Christian L. Stahr is a Norwegian composer, orchestrator, and music director based in Cary, NC, known for crafting evocative and compelling musical narratives across theatre, concert, and cultural stages. He studied Musicology, Orchestration, and Composition at the University of Oslo and the Norwegian Academy of Music, before earning an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

His career launched with His Majesty the King’s Guard, where he performed for the Norwegian Royal Family, arranged and composed music for official state events, and was honored with the King’s Guard Grant for outstanding contributions.

Over the past 20+ years, Stahr has built an extensive portfolio of compositions, orchestrations, and performances. Highlights include orchestrating and composing for the opening of Fredrikstad City’s 450th Anniversary, Åges Danseband’s Concert in Symphony at Rockefeller Concert Hall, and the award-winning musical To Paint the Earth.

In the Triangle area, he has collaborated with theatres such as Burning Coal Theatre, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Raleigh Little Theatre, and Theatre in the Park. His credits there include music direction and orchestration for Sunday in the Park with George, A Little Night Music, Pippin, Cinderella, Merrily We Roll Along, as well as composing the score for Copenhagen.

As a theatre composer, his works include Let’s Be Frank (with Zayre Ferrer), You Can’t Sing, The Call, and Olav den Heldige (St. Olaf the Lucky One), which became the centerpiece of Norway’s St. Olaf Festival from 2011–2016. As co-founder of Teater4Real, he helped launch Norway’s first musical theatre festival with the debut show 4Real.