Christopher Gainey (b. 1981) earned Bachelor and Master of music degrees from the Peabody Conservatory in composition, guitar performance, and music theory pedagogy before receiving a Ph. D. in composition from the University of Iowa.  His music has been performed throughout the United States and abroad by groups such as the University of Iowa Center for New Music, The Atlantic Guitar Quartet, The Affinity Chamber Players, The San Francisco Guitar Quartet, The Great Lakes Art Music Ensemble, and Duo Transatlantique.  His music is published by Vogt&Fritz and in the SCI Journal of Music Scores, and his music is included on recordings from SCI, The San Francisco Guitar Quartet, ERM Media, and The Grinnell College Singers.  Until recently, he was a lecturer in composition at Grinnell College and a visiting assistant professor of music theory at the University of Iowa teaching seminars in spectral music, post-tonal music theory, and electronic music in addition to advising individual composition students. He is currently pursuing a second Ph. D. in music theory as a graduate student at the University of British Columbia where the focus of his research is the role of timbre in twenty-first century music.