Chris Dessent
Chris Dessent (Fort Wayne, IN) is a music educator, conductor, composer, and arranger. He currently serves as Assistant Band Director and Assistant Professor of Practice in Music at Purdue University Fort Wayne, where he directs various ensembles and teaches music education courses. Dessent also serves as the Pep Band Director at PFW. Prior to this position, Dessent was an Associate Band Director at Fishers High School in Fishers, Indiana. His responsibilities included work with the school’s award-winning concert bands, marching band, and jazz bands. Under his direction, the FHS bands consistently received top ratings at state and national contests and festivals. Previously, he served as a Band Director at Fishers Junior High School and Sand Creek Intermediate School. Dessent began his career teaching K-8 general music, band, and choir in Cincinnati Public Schools.
Dessent is also a highly sought-after clinician, adjudicator, and performer. He is on faculty with the Indiana Clarinet Experience, and frequently adjudicates for Bands of America events across the country. Dessent is a woodwind specialist, maintaining a private studio of clarinet and saxophone students in his community. As a composer and arranger, his works for wind ensemble and other mediums reflect his diverse musical experiences and interests.
A 2012 graduate of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Dessent received a Bachelor of Music Education degree with High Distinction, studying clarinet with Howard Klug. Dessent received a Master of Music Education degree from Butler University in Indianapolis. He currently lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with his wife and daughter.