Career
Madsen began playing the guitar at age six. At 24, he was voted "Most Advanced Guitarist" by The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and Yamaha International. In 1973 he became Yamaha"s head of course development, teaching guitar workshops across Canada and heading the guitar department at the company"s Vancouver school.
In 1980 Madsen was presented the National Performance Award for Guitar Teachers, and in 1982 the Distinguished Teacher Award for Canada.
He has written fifteen books on musical technique. Madsen has twice been recognized with awards from the BCIMA (British Columbia Indie Music Award).
Madsen released his album Black and White in 1983. He subsequently opened the Chris Madsen Music School in Vernon, which was in business from 1992 until 2010.
The school employed 14 teachers and had over 350 students.
Madsen, along with Tim Reardon, founded the Music Educators Institute (MEI) in 1995. His 10 albums released in 2010, including Carfirmation, Guided Meditations, and There"s a World, engage in issues of spiritual consciousness. In 2006, Madsen began and is the current director of the Body Soul Wellness Faire, a semi-annual interactive gathering devoted to physical and spiritual wellness.
This wellness faire was featured on CHBC news in March 2011 and October 2011.
In March 2010, Madsen gave a spiritual workshop on the Infinite Sea of Possibilities at the Okanagan Centre for Spiritual Living in Vernon. On 20 August 2010, Madsen performed a concert at the Powerhouse Theatre in Vernon for the homeless and on 13 May 2011, he performed once more at the same theatre alongside his former guitar student, Canadian Artist Jodi Pederson, in a concert to help benefit the local woman"s centre.
Madsen is also the author of the 2010 book and screenplay entitled Song of the Troubadour, a metaphysical romance novel set in medieval times. 1983 — Most Advanced Guitarist by Yamaha/Toronto Conservatory, "Taste of Spain".
