Chris Rayis

Chris Rayis is a composer, lyricist, pianist, conductor, orchestrator, arranger, copyist, producer, historian, and lecturer from Columbus, Ohio with over two decades of professional experience in the musical theatre. Rayis' career began as a concert and studio pianist, performing with artists at Carnegie Hall, the Grand Ole Opry, and the recording studios of Nashville, Tennessee.

As a musical theatre musician, Rayis' credits include the Broadway production of Frozen, multiple Off-Broadway productions including Far From Heaven (starring Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale), frequent work on national tours including Hamilton (as Music Assistant to Alex Lacamoire), the film adaptation of The Last 5 Years, regional productions including The Nutty Professor (directed by Jerry Lewis), and numerous concerts as solo accompanist with great performers of the theatre (including Jodi Benson, Julia Murney, Michael James Scott, Rachel Bay Jones, Talia Suskauer, Lissa DeGuzman, Eleri Ward, Keala Settle, A.J. Shively, Jared Bradshaw, Jessica Grové, Corey Cott, Krysta Rodriguez, Lesli Margherita, Hugh Panaro, Faith Prince, and Broadway Inspirational Voices).

As a composer, lyricist, and producer, Rayis creates musical theatre for adventurous audiences, including the Appalachian epic Deep Water Ballad, the song cycle Strange Music for a Strange Time, and the children's musical Jenny and the Paper Pirates. Rayis has released two recorded collections of his theatre music: Transcriber of Dreams (2021) and Deep Water Ballad: The Elon Workshop Cast Recording (2023), both available on streaming and digital.