Christian Sedelmyer is a daring and diversified musician and creative entrepreneur. He’s a violin experimenter who, in his playing, deftly balances bluegrass and old-time traditions with the innovative freedom of musical heroes like Neil Young, Vassar Clements, John Hartford, and Stuart Duncan. He’s an outstanding improvising instrumentalist who can soar and thrill in any style, and has received 2 GRAMMY nominations for his recording work. 

 

Since moving to Nashville, Tennessee in 2008, Sedelmyer has been called on to be part of some of the edgiest and highest caliber instrumental projects of his time, and he’s offered deft musical support to some of today’s finest songwriters. As a composer, Sedelmyer crafts melodic and cinematic landscape music, inspired partially as an antidote to the busyness of life on the road and high-octane decision making that occurs in his real estate investing businesses.

 

Sedelmyer grew up in Erie, PA and after learning the ropes of the violin as a student of the Suzuki method from a young age, had his first stage time with his father’s folk rock band, and later, a rock band of peers. He honed a quick mind at Wake Forest in NC, where he was a competitive debater. He lasted a year in a post-college corporate consulting job and followed a calling to Nashville in 2008. There, he became an integral part of the weekly jam at East Nashville’s 5 Spot and an avid student of bluegrass, old-time and other roots genres. As an integral member of The Farewell Drifters from 2009 to 2011, he developed a new take on string band pop, which the band took all over the country. In 2012, he shifted focus to 10 String Symphony, a duo with fiddler/banjo player and songwriter Rachel Baiman. Conceived as a side experiment, the project lifted off with two charting albums and bookings in France, the UK, New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong.

 

Christian has collaborated with 16-time Grammy award winner Jerry Douglas in his namesake band since 2014, during such tenure earning 2 Grammy nominations himself for albums recorded with the Jerry Douglas Band - 2017’s What If, nominated in the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album category, and 2021’s Leftover Feelings, nominated in the Best Americana Album Category, a soulful collaboration between the band and iconic songwriter John Hiatt.

 

During his tenure in Nashville, Sedelmyer has additionally honed the craft of becoming the best possible sideman, learning to support a song with taste and touch. Among the artists who’ve called on him in this role: Kacey Musgraves, Steve Martin & Alison Brown, Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull and Billy Strings. He’s recorded on over 100 projects, as a collaborator, session musician and producer. And even more indicative of his stature as a modern violin player are the special collaborations for which he’s been tapped. That includes the 2018 recording of the classic fiddle tune “Squirrel Hunters” by Special Consensus, which won the IBMA Award for Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year, and the “Reunion” set at MerleFest with Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Bryan Sutton and Mark Schatz, some of the most distinguished instrumentalists of the last 40 years.

 

The old saying “he’s just getting started” applies here. Sedelmyer is established as a first-call musician and admired by music watchers as a leader with limitless potential. Asked about his personal mission statement, he offers six highly refined words: “Protect your inspiration at all costs.”