Cris Derksen

Juno nominated Cris Derksen is an Internationally respected Indigenous Cellist and Composer. Originally from Treaty 8 in Northern Alberta, she comes from NorthTall Cree Reserve on her father’s side and Mennonite homesteaders on her mother’s.

Derksen’s composition strength lies in her diversity for all artistic fields including: Dance, Theatre, Film, Television, Animation, Fashion, Podcasts, Symphonic, Chamber, Choral, and Installations. She performs as soloist-composer for Symphonies and Chamber Orchestra’s across Canada and has been commissioned by the Calgary Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Thunder Bay Symphony and Orchestre Metropolitan.

Derksen was the composer for the Canadian Pavilion for the World Expo in Dubai in 2022, Her work on the Podcast Stolen: Surviving St. Michael's by Connie Walker and Gimlet media won both a Pulitzer and Peabody. Recent achievements include their Carnegie Hall Debut with Orchestra Metropolitan conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. A collaboration with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra of new ballet Tel Wild Man of the woods and scoring a National Geographic Documentary. Derksen is always up for the challenge of bringing an Indigenous perspective to all aspects of sonic storytelling.