Chris Lowe
Performing Arts Leader | Theatre Director | Conductor
| Arts Educator | Composer
Chris Lowe is a performing arts leader, theatre director, conductor, educator, and community arts advocate whose career has been defined by a commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for artists, students, and audiences. With more than two decades of experience spanning theatre, music, education, and community engagement, Chris has built performing arts programs, directed and musical-directed productions, conducted orchestras and choirs, and brought communities together through the transformative power of live performance.
Chris holds a Master of Music in Performing Arts with an emphasis in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Texas at El Paso, awarded in May 2026, and a Bachelor of Arts in Intercultural Communication from Brigham Young University–Hawaiʻi.
Throughout his career, Chris has been particularly passionate about building programs where none previously existed. As Director of Performing Arts at American Renaissance Academy in Kapolei, Hawaiʻi, he developed a comprehensive performing arts program encompassing theatre, choir, chamber orchestra, and dance. He transformed an existing Broadway song showcase into a full musical theatre program that ultimately produced 13 fully licensed productions. He helped create the school's black box theatre, developed its lighting and sound infrastructure, trained student technicians, and built production teams involving students, faculty, staff, parents, and community members.
His work in musical theatre has taken him from Hawaiʻi to Samoa and Utah. He has directed and musical-directed numerous productions, including Once On This Island, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, Annie Jr., Beauty and the Beast Jr., Alice in Wonderland Jr., High School Musical Jr., The King and I, Les Misérables – School Edition, Shrek the Musical Jr., Hairspray Jr., Grease, Mulan Jr., and The Lion King Jr., among others. His relationship with Once On This Island has been especially significant: he has performed the roles of Agwe and Papa Ge, directed the musical in multiple educational and community settings, and created an extended orchestration of “The Human Heart.”
As a conductor, Chris serves as Associate Conductor of the Eagle Mountain Symphony Orchestra and has led orchestras, choirs, and musical theatre ensembles in Hawaiʻi, Samoa, and Utah. His conducting experience ranges from Mozart and Rossini to John Williams and contemporary musical theatre, including conducting a full pit orchestra for Les Misérables that included musicians from the Marine Corps Pacific Forces Band. He has also conducted performances featuring professional theatre artists, community musicians, and emerging young performers.
Education and opportunity remain at the center of Chris's work. At John Hancock Public Charter School in Eagle Mountain, Utah, he rebuilt the school's developing theatre program and expanded student participation while creating a student-centered approach to musical theatre education. Rather than simply assigning students material to perform, Chris guides students through the history and components of musical theatre and gives them the opportunity to discover, select, audition for, and ultimately perform pieces that have personal meaning to them. He has also developed student technical theatre opportunities and authored a $15,000 Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative Classroom Resources Grant proposal to expand students' access to professional audio, lighting, and stage equipment.
Chris's philosophy of education can be summed up in a simple belief:
“The greatest thing you can give any kid is an opportunity.”
That philosophy was recognized at the 2026 Utah Charter School Symposium, where three keynote speakers independently referenced the idea in their presentations. Inspirational speaker Ben Kjar invited Chris onto the stage to elaborate on the philosophy after quoting it during his keynote.
Community engagement is another defining element of Chris's work. He currently serves on the Board of Hale Centre Theatre in Sandy, Utah, where he serves on the Diversity and Outreach Committee, and on the Board of the Eagle Mountain Symphony Orchestra, where he leads the Outreach and Community Partnerships Committee. He believes theatre and music reach their greatest potential when artists and communities work together with mutual respect, shared purpose, and a willingness to create something greater than any individual could create alone.
Chris is also an active performer, with experience in musical theatre, opera, straight plays, and Shakespeare. Selected roles include Jethro in The Prince of Egypt at Hale Centre Theatre, Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird, Papa Ge in Once On This Island, Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas, Joe Boyd in Damn Yankees, Gremio in Kiss Me, Kate, and the Attendant to the Banished Duke in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
His work has been recognized with honors including the Best Composer Award at the 2025 LA Indies Film Festival, the Pō‘kela Service Award from the Hawaiʻi Army National Guard for musical service honoring fallen soldiers and their families, and the Outstanding Educator Award from American Renaissance Academy.
At the heart of all of Chris's work is a belief that the arts can do more than entertain. They can give people a voice, create belonging, build bridges between communities, and—perhaps most importantly—give people the opportunity to discover what they are capable of becoming.