Born in Pittsburg, California, Carl Christensen is currently Musical Director and Conductor of Monterey County Pops! and Monterey Opera.  From 1998 to 2001 he served as Outreach Director and Conductor for the Carmel Bach Festival and in 1996 he was Director of the Brass Ensemble for the Festival.  Since 1996 he has been a regular guest conductor with the National Symphony of Guatemala and the UNT Orchestra in Tucumán, Argentina.  In November 2011 he appeared as the Guest Conductor for the Inaugural Concert of Instrumenta Oaxaca 2011, in Oaxaca, Mexico.  

From 1981 to 2012 he was a Professor of Music and Director of the Orchestra and Band at Hartnell College in Salinas, California.  

In 1971 he was invited to Mexico City as Principal Trombone of the Orchestra of the State of Mexico.  He remained in Mexico until 1981, successively occupying the position of Principal Trombone with the Orchestra of the National Opera and the Mexico City Philharmonic.  Since returning from Mexico, he has performed with the Monterey County, Santa Cruz, and Sacramento symphonies, the Monterey Brass Quintet, Ensemble Monterey, and the Monterey Bay Symphony.  He has recorded a trombone recital album for Coronet Records.   

While living in Mexico City, he founded and conducted the Mexico City Philharmonic Brass Ensemble and the Trombone Ensemble of the National Conservatory.  He also conducted youth concerts and concerts of contemporary music with members of the Mexico City Philharmonic.  In 1975 he founded and conducted the orchestra of the State of Mexico School of Fine Arts in Toluca.  

In Mexico he taught trombone at the Vida y Movimiento Music School of the Mexico City Philharmonic, the National Conservatory of Music, and the State of Mexico School of Fine Arts in Toluca.  Many of the professional trombonists currently active in Mexico were his students.  

In 1987 he earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California (USC).  Doctoral studies included Conducting, Music History, and Electronic Music as well as Trombone Performance.  He is the co-author and programmer of "Foundations of Music," a college music text now in its seventh edition.  

Honors have included Outstanding Graduate of the USC Wind Department in 1967, USC Wind Departmental Award in 1988, and teaching excellence awards at Hartnell College in 1984, 1987 and 1990.  He was honored by the Central Coast Section of the California Music Educators Association as Outstanding Music Educator for 1998.  In 2013 he was honored by the Arts Council for Monterey County as a Champion of the Arts - Luminary.