Christopher Olka, tuba

Principal tuba of the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera, Christopher Olka has had a wide and varied career in music. His orchestral experience includes substitute tuba with the New York Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, and New Jersey Symphony, as well as principal positions with the New Jersey Pops, American Repertory Ballet, Aspen Festival, and Garden State Philharmonic orchestras.

Before moving to New York, Olka was a staff musician from 1989 to 1996 for the Walt Disney World Company in Orlando, Florida, where he was a member of many bands, including the TUBAFOURS tuba quartet, the world’s only fulltime tuba quartet.

He holds a BM degree from the University of Central Florida and an MM from the Juilliard School. During his undergraduate studies, Olka was the winner of the Music Teachers National Association Collegiate Artist Brass Solo Competition in 1996, as well as winning the Southern Regional MTNA Solo Competition twice and the Florida MTNA Solo Competition three times. He was guest tuba artist for the Harvey Phillips Northwest "Big Brass" Bash in 1999.

Olka’s teachers include Warren Deck (New York Philharmonic), Joe Alessi (New York Philharmonic), and Abe Torchinsky (Philadelphia Orchestra, Retired).

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