My name is Chris Celiz. I’m an Artist, Music Educator, World Champion Beatboxer and all-around fun-haver. I’m about sharing the possibility of empowerment, joy and excellence through performance, education, artistry and collaboration. I’m a New York City native, graduate of State University of New York at Fredonia (undergraduate in Music Education woo woo.) Some of my more notable accomplishments are winning the American Beatbox Championships in 2015 and 2016, the Grand Beatbox Battle in 2018, the World Beatbox Championships in 2018 and the 2019 Varsity Vocals International Acapella Open (all of this accomplished with my homie Gene Shinozaki. ) I am also the recipient of the 2020 Gross Family Prize (for Bzzzz choreographed by Caleb Teicher,) and was commissioned by Works and Process at the Guggenheim to Premiere “The Missing Element” (a 40-minute dance and beatbox immersive experience) in the Guggenheim Rotunda. In partnership with Lincoln Center, Kaatsbaan Culture Park and Works and Process we documented the process of the creation of the piece during COVID 19 in a docuseries called Isolation to Creation. I am the founder of The Beatbox House, A collective of World Champion Beatboxers based out of New York City.
I’ve been blessed to perform at places like Carnegie Hall, The Apollo, New York City Center, Lincoln Center, Jacob’s Pillow, Le Poisson Rouge, The Kennedy Center, Astrakulturehaus, New Victory Theatre and The Blue Note to name a few. I’ve had the opportunity to speak and perform at universities such as Harvard, Colombia, Brown, The New School, Westminster Choir College, and I’ve also collaborated with luminaries as Dana Leong, Bryon Bainn and Caleb Teicher. I have gotten to speak at conferences such as NJMEA and NAFME Eastern Conference as a clinician alongside Amanda Newell as the beginning of the new beatbox education movement. I’ve also taught in New York City Public and Private Schools as a full-time music educator (general music and chorus), and have recently taken the leap to make music my full-time career and am currently performing and teaching virtually, nationally and internationally.