Christian Gray joined The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2022. A native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he was a member of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra from 2017 to 2022. Prior to his appointment in Philadelphia, he performed frequently with the National Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the Houston Symphony, and the San Antonio Symphony, among others. He has been a recipient of several fellowships, including two summers at the Tanglewood Music Center, where he performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra; the Music Academy of the West; and as the first-ever double bass fellow at the Garth Newel Music Center in Hot Springs, Virginia. As a soloist, Mr. Gray won 2nd Prize and “Audience Favorite” at the 2021 Sphinx Competition. As an educator, he has held residencies at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, as well as classes with the International Society of Bassists and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. He studied at Rice University, Boston University, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. His mentors include Edwin Barker, Paul Ellison, and Paul Sharpe.