By Kathryn Allen
Raise your hand if you know that Apex has a performance space where you can see incredible musicians right in downtown!
If this is new information to you, you’re not alone. You might be surprised to learn that not only do we have that space at the Halle Cultural Arts Center on Salem Street, but we also have an Apex resident who is bringing world famous musicians to perform there. Christian Tamburr, who has lived in Apex since 2019, is an international renowned jazz performer, composer, and arranger, and the curator of the “On the Steps” concert series at the Halle.
Christian started playing music at age 5 after seeing his dad play guitar. He admits he wasn’t very good at the guitar, but at 8, he inherited a baby grand piano and discovered an affinity for it. He also found he had a good ear for finding notes on the piano and started improvising with his dad. In junior high school, Christian joined the school concert band and switched to percussion. At about this same time, he stumbled onto jazz, which meshed with his talents for improvisation and his musical ear. He went on to study musical performance in college at the University of North Florida.
At just 20 years old, Christian moved to Las Vegas, where he landed a five-night-a-week residency at Steve Wynn’s esteemed jazz club inside the Bellagio Hotel. Still underage, he was escorted by security through the casino to the stage each night. That opportunity led to working with Penn & Teller, where he expanded beyond jazz into composing, arranging, and learning the intricacies of large-scale theatrical productions. His career has since taken him around the world as musical director and pianist for Julio Iglesias, as an arts and cultural ambassador for Jazz at Lincoln Center throughout Asia and the Middle East, and as a headlining performer at venues that include the Kennedy Center and the Newport Jazz Festival. Returning to Las Vegas years later, Christian developed productions as both musical director and creative director for entertainment brands including The Cosmopolitan, The Palazzo, and Spiegelworld Productions. After many years in Las Vegas, Christian and his family had the opportunity to move to the East Coast where they found Apex. They fell in love with the downtown and the feeling of the community and decided to make Apex home.
As a touring jazz musician, Christian’s primary solo instrument is vibraphone, a tuned metal instrument with a similar structure to a xylophone, made popular by jazz greats such as Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson and Gary Burton. In his performances, which have taken him to more than 75 different countries, Christian strives to celebrate these great artists while paving his own new and unique sound on the instrument. He also works with other artists as an arranger and musical director using his piano skills and has been bringing world-class musical experiences to audiences around the world for more than 20 years. He is equally passionate about making art a successful business and offers educational outreach for up-and-coming musicians with a course called “Musicians MBA in a Day” focusing on the business side of being an artist.
Christian has been producing concerts locally in the Triangle since 2022, celebrating the notable artists who call this area home as well as bringing in internationally touring performers. Through the many connections and collaborations that he has made over the years, Christian is able to bring distinguished performers to Apex. Christian tells us, “I make my living touring all over the world, so the opportunity to bring artists to Apex means I can be home to take my kids, ages 4 and 10, to school after an evening of sharing the stage with some of the best musicians in the world.”
For a second year in a row, Christian is bringing the “On the Steps” concert series to the Halle, starting with 2026 Grammy-nominated artist “for best traditional pop vocal album” vocalist Laila Biali on Friday, August 21; followed by multi-Grammy-nominated Durham-based jazz duo Keith Ganz, guitar, and Kate McGarry, vocals, on Friday, November 20; and concluding with international recording artist and jazz standards vocalist Sachal Vasandani on April 2, 2027. As series host and on-stage musical collaborator, Christian will join the performers throughout their set as a guest on piano or vibraphone.
This series uses the Halle performance space to create an intimate venue, just 100 seats, for audiences to appreciate the music and interact with the artists. The audience will sit in a semi-circle “in the round” and, as the series title suggests, the artists will perform on the steps, creating a deeply connected musical experience for both audience and performer. Christian shares, “Any performer will tell you that the interplay between the musicians and the audience is key to the enjoyment of a performance.” The performance space itself, on the second floor of the Halle, lends itself to this format. Instead of a tiered theatre, the Halle space can be set up to bring the audience into the performance, erasing the divide between the artists and the audience.
To add even more to the audience’s enjoyment, Marie Neal, Cultural Arts Program Specialist at the Halle, will serve as a narrator and interviewer, allowing the performers to share their influences, current connections to the music, and upcoming projects. She describes her role as “facilitating a living room-like conversation about the artists’ past, present, and future so that audiences can understand what it’s like to live as a performing artist.”
Marie says, “The Town’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources department and I are honored to be partnering with Christian on this series. He is someone who is excited to try new ideas and bring innovative events to Apex.”
Christian is driven not only by his passion for music, but also his desire to bring opportunities to our community. He wants Apex residents to have access to great musical performances right here in town and credits the Town of Apex for its commitment to growing our arts and culture scene.
Christian concludes by saying, “In a world where big shows are the norm, people, both musicians and audience members, are hungry for a more special, connected experience, including grabbing dinner or a drink at local restaurants and bars before seeing a concert where you engage directly with the artists.” This is exactly what “On the Steps” offers to us.
For information and tickets for “On the Steps” and all upcoming performances at the Halle, visit www.apexnc.org/halle.
