Dr. Christopher Fisher is Professor of Piano at Ohio University in Athens, where he co-chairs the Keyboard Division and directs nationally recognized undergraduate and graduate programs in piano performance and pedagogy. He also serves as Artistic Director of the Ohio University Piano Pedagogy Seminar and is a Faculty Fellow for the 1804 Scholars Program. From 2020–2022, he served as Director of the School of Music and was previously Assistant Director. In recognition of his teaching, he received the 2010 Ohio Music Teachers Association Collegiate Teacher of the Year Award, the Ohio University School of Music Distinguished Teaching Award, and was named a 2025 Foundation Fellow by the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA).
A leading voice in piano pedagogy, Dr. Fisher is the author of Teaching Piano in Groups (Oxford University Press), the only comprehensive textbook of its kind, available in English and Chinese. He is co-author of Piano Duet Repertoire (Indiana University Press, expanded ed. 2016), Functional Skills for Pianists (Oxford University Press, 2022), and is currently co-editing the Oxford Handbook for Piano Pedagogy with Dr. Sally Cathcart. His writing has been featured in American Music Teacher, Clavier Companion, and Keyboard Companion. As a composer, his educational piano works are published by Alfred Music and Piano Safari, and he is a contributing composer to the globally used Piano Safari method.
Dr. Fisher is a sought-after clinician and has presented lectures nationally and internationally, including at the Music Teachers National Association National Conferences, the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, and the National Group Piano and Piano Pedagogy Forum. International appearances include the Music & Drama Education Expo (London), The Curious Piano Teachers Conferences (UK and Northern Ireland), the Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference (Australia), Encontro Internacional de Pianistas (Brazil), CEPIC (Spain), and the Tel Hai International Music Festival (Israel). He has also presented at leading institutions including The Juilliard School, Tianjin Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University, University of Oxford, and Trinity Laban Conservatoire. As a performer, Dr. Fisher regularly presents solo and collaborative recitals, including performances with his wife, pianist Katherine Fisher, as the Fisher Piano Duo. The duo received first prize in the Graves/OhioMTA Piano Competition (Adult Duo Division) in 2007. His recording Samplings: New Music for Bassoon and Piano is available on the MSR Classics label.
Dr. Fisher is deeply involved in MTNA and the Ohio Music Teachers Association (OhioMTA), where he has held leadership roles including Vice-President for Conferences and Vice-President for Membership. He currently serves as Collegiate Chapter Chair and faculty advisor for Ohio University’s MTNA Collegiate Chapter, a three-time national award recipient (2015, 2019, 2021). He also maintains a successful pre-college studio, and his students have excelled in regional and state competitions. He frequently serves as an adjudicator and masterclass clinician, with recent engagements including the MTNA Stecher & Horowitz Two Piano Competition, the OHIO International Piano Duet & Duo Competition, and the United States Virtuoso Artists International Piano Competition. A Missouri native, Dr. Fisher holds degrees from Northwest Missouri State University (B.A.), Wichita State University (M.M. in Piano Pedagogy), and the University of Oklahoma (D.M.A. in Piano Performance and Pedagogy), where he received the Alumni Graduate Fellowship. His principal teachers include Edward Gates, Jane Magrath, Barbara Fast, Julie Bees, Sylvia Coats, Richard Bobo, and Betty Preston.
Dr. Fisher lives in Albany, Ohio with his wife Katherine and their children, Isaiah and Anna.