Christopher Deane

Christopher John Deane passed away on Saturday, October 9, 2021 after a 4-year battle with colon cancer.  Chris was born 12/11/1957 in Winston-Salem, NC to Clive Peter Deane and Nancy McGeary Deane.  He received his High School diploma and B.M. from the North Carolina School of the Arts.  He received his Master’s of Music from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. 

Chris served as a Professor of Music in Percussion at the University of North Texas for 21 years.  He also served as the Timpanist for the East Texas Symphony for 6 years and Principal Percussionist with the Las Colinas Symphony for 8.  He frequently performed as timpanist with the Dallas Symphony, and as a percussionist with the Dallas Opera.  In 2019, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Percussive Arts Society.

While living in North Carolina, Chris served as the Principal Timpanist of the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra for 9 years and performed percussion with the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra for 10.  He also performed with numerous large ensembles including the Boston Pops, Minnesota Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, Spoleto Festival Orchestra and the Utah Symphony.

Chris was an award-winning composer and wrote over 80 pieces.  Some of his music has become standard literature internationally.  In 2012 he was the featured composer for the Ensembles de percussion, Pays de la Loire in France with 4 performances of his solo and ensemble music in Le Mans and Cholet

Chris was married to his wife Janis for 35 years, which he said was the greatest joy of his life. They met through Celtic music and played, recorded and performed together throughout their marriage.  He was extremely proud of his two children, Isabelle and Nigel, and supported them throughout all of their endeavors.  Chris is also survived by his sister Leslie and his brother Peter.

There will be a Celebration of Life concert featuring Chris’ music on Saturday, April 2, 2022 at 3:30 p.m in the Recital Hall at the UNT School of Music. 

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you please donate to the UNT Christopher Deane Principal Percussion Scholarship.  Checks can be made out to the University of North Texas and mailed to: University of North Texas, University Advancement, 1155 Union Circle #311250, Denton, TX, 76203-5017.  Please put the fund name on the memo line of the check.  Online gifts can be made here: unt.edu.  Click on “Giving”, then “Give Now”, choose Specific Fund; Fund keyword: Christopher Deane Principal Percussion Scholarship. This link might also work for most users: https://tinyurl.com/mncnwpvw.