Hans Christian, renowned cellist, combines business, artistic sides with recording studio in Door County

Hans Christian, owner of Studio 330 in Sturgeon Bay and a renowned cellist, summarizes his life story in a simple manner.

“A studio is the work of a businessman. I am an artist and a business man; that’s an unusual thing,” he said.

As he continues to excel in the music industry, an industry that he says has changed dramatically, he balances his time between performing and working at his studio. He is also active in the Door County community, a place he is glad to call home.

A native of Hanover, Germany, Christian was raised by parents who he says were socially active. His dad, a Lutheran minister, and mom, a social worker, exposed him to a “community-oriented creative environment.”

“I started playing the piano in 1969 and the cello in 1970," he said. "I loved the cellist section and my parents noticed that and enrolled me in a music school. When I was in my teens, I had my first experiences with the recording studio environment and got initiated into the recording world.”

The opportunities in Germany were limited, and in 1982 he decided to move to the United States. He landed in Hollywood, California, and enrolled in a musicians school where he pursued a career as a bassist and cellist.

“I worked with well-known artists, and it was a time when there was still money in music and big recording studios,” he said. “The early 'eighties '80s in Los Angeles were an exciting time.”

As he developed a name for himself, he was soon touring Europe and nationally as a cellist. One of the places he discovered during that time was Door County, and he routed tours through there whenever he could.

In 1989, he made San Francisco his home.

“I was there until 2002,” Christian said. “There were numerous factors in play, and for a number of reasons, I didn’t want to be in California anymore. In my studio, I had made good friends with some musicians from Door County and I thought, ‘The only other place I love is Door County.’”

With advancements in technology, it became easy to work long distance with a simple exchange of music files. That led him to Sister Bay where he opened Allemande Music, meaning “dance” in German. After finding a more suitable location, he relocated to Sturgeon Bay in 2008 and rebranded as Studio 330.

“It was a perfect building," he said. "It is a historic building, built in 1869. The back is zoned as a five-unit commercial building, and it had everything that was needed for a recording studio. The only change it needed was to be made a little quieter, but it all worked out well.”

Christian furnished the studio with top-of-the-line equipment including a $62,000 mixing board and microphones that cost about $5,000 each. This quality distinguishes his studio from the recording done by many today.

“If you’re serious, you need to get to the point where I’m at, and you can’t do that on a laptop. It is easy to have a home studio and buy a little of this and that and call yourself a studio. It just isn’t the same quality,” he said.

The quality of his studio allows for a comprehensive list of services. Those include music production and recording, mixing music for film and video projects, mastering, voice-over recording, dialogue prep and editing, music composition, recording of his own music, project consultation, and front-of-house services.

His portfolio includes performances and studio work with some of the country’s most well-known film and music directors. In addition, Christian has played in some of the top venues in the world; at places like Chartres Cathedral in Chartres, France, one of the greatest cathedrals in the world.

He recalled, “I flew into Paris once a year for about six years to play cello when they had gatherings of about 100 people from around the world. My job was to play cello in the crypt below the cathedral and monastery.”

During that rare opportunity, Christian recorded three CDs. Throughout the years, many more have been added to his repertoire as he has collaborated with internationally recognized teachers and performers.

But one of the greatest collaborations occurred a few years ago. It started with a telephone call from the longtime producer of legendary cellist David Darling who passed away in 2021. The producer said he had some raw material of Darling's and didn’t want to just get rid of it.

In what Christian considers one of the biggest honors of his life, he was challenged to mix the music with his own. The result was the album, “Ocean Dreaming Ocean.” Earlier this year, it received a Grammy nomination in the New Age/Ambient/Chant category.

That achievement attests to his ear for music.

“Having played cello for over 50 years myself, I know what he (Darling) was doing," Christian said. "He was pushing himself into a zone where he wasn’t thinking anymore, where the music was free-flowing.”

Christian operates in the same manner and says that he doesn’t listen to the words of music, he is absorbed into the feel of it. In his studio, he works with the music so that it feels right. His clients are diverse. One day, he might be working with a songwriter/musician who wants a legacy recording; the next he might be editing a musical score for a movie.

His reputation and track record make him a success, and his only goals are to continue performing and mixing, and something he says he lacks in, to learn more about social media. For that, he has consulted with SCORE and the vast number of mentors available at score.org.

When asked if he could have accomplished as much as he has if he was starting out today, he thinks it would be a much more difficult road. The industry has changed and it is unlikely that a musician would be able to go to a big city, perform, and come home with a recording contract. The same goes for opening a studio and immediately having customers. He has advice for new studio business startups.

“My path hasn’t always been the easiest, but it is harder now. For a young person starting a studio, you won’t be able to live on this. If you think you will be able to do that, you are setting yourself up for failure. Take time to grow your business while working and build your name before leaving a job,” he said.

Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and past district director for SCORE, Wisconsin.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Cellist Hans Christian owns Studio 330 in Sturgeon Bay