north is an NYC-based band created in 1999 by Christopher North Renquist (cnr). north performs as both an electric quartet (rock/funk) and an acoustic duo (folk/jazz w/occasional guests)

band members:

cnr	singer/songwriter, electric bass, acoustic bass, acoustic guitar, harmonica
bryan vargas	electric guitar, acoustic guitar
philip clark	keyboards, sax, vocals
david penna	drums

While Christopher's interests and talent have inspired multi-dimensional pursuits in music performance and composition (classical, jazz, pop), inter-disciplinary collaborations (with dance, theater and visual artists) and photography, cnr is currently focusing on his first love of songwriting, performing and recording with his band, north.

Because this site is under construction, and until complete information (and recordings) of north-and other recordings by cnr-are added, here is some background information about cnr:

Christopher North Renquist

Born February 6, 1969 in Austin, Texas, Christopher began his musical and performing life with piano lessons at age 7 and sang in his first children's church choir at age 9. As a child he performed on stage (Dallas Theater Center) and screen (Semi-Tough with Burt Reynolds and Cotton Candy, directed by Ron Howard), also appearing in national print advertisements. He began writing songs immediately after picking up guitar and bass lessons (and thus discovering his life's passion) as a freshman in high school and commenced serious composition at age 18 and classical bass studies at age 19, including studying jazz and taking lessons on several instruments and voice while a student at the University of North Texas. He is a 1994 graduate of Southern Methodist University in Dallas with a Bachelor of Music in Composition. In addition to bass lessons with Tom Lederer (of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra) and master classes with Eugene Levinson (principal bassist of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra) and Edgar Meyer at The Julliard School, he currently studies bass with Orin O'Brien (of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra) and Chris Mathers.

His works, composed for a wide variety and combination of instruments-ranging from traditional/classical to contemporary/avant garde-have been performed at an eclectic array of venues in New York, Texas and Ohio. Christopher's commissions for and collaborations with dance companies/choreographers include Deep Ellum Opera Theatre, Theatre On Elm Street, Park Cities Performing Arts Center, Loris Anthony Beckles (for Nova Dancing Company), Valerie Alpert & Company, Michelle Lee Adams and Greenspan. His first film score was for The Tip, an independent film which was accepted into the 1998 South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival in Austin and received honors at the 1997 Houston International Film Festival. His theater composition credits include a score for The American Globe Theater's off-Broadway production of The Three Musketeers (supported by a grant from Meet The Composer) and his composition and performance for The Husbands, presented by the 1998 New York International Fringe Festival. Several of Christopher's more youthful commissions can be heard on Public Television Workshop's international programming of Sesame Street.

In addition to his solo performances, Christopher's work has been performed by New Arts Collective, Severed Ear String Quartet, Venus String Quartet, M Street Quartet, and his bands blue skye (as recorded/released on his independent label, schizophonic music); and north. As a freelance bassist, he has performed with The Dixie Chicks, members of the New Bohemians, Mark Humble and the Ringers, Irving Symphony Orchestra, Garland Symphony Orchestra, San Angelo Symphony, Turtle Creek Chorale, Centre Symphony Orchestra, Albert Einstein Symphony Orchestra, as principal bass of Brooklyn Heights Orchestra , Theater for The New City and Theatre Three. Christopher tours internationally with The Blue Mockingbirds (featuring former members of Living Colour and Modern English), playing keyboards. He sings with New York Choral Artists. The Russian Chamber Chorus and St. Bartholomew's Church Choir at venues including Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. In addition to recording/editing for independent artists in his private studio in Manhattan, Christopher also teaches bass, guitar and voice in his studio and at the 92nd Street Y School of Music.