Christian Hommel studied the oboe in Freiburg with Heinz Holliger and the piano with James Avery. He was a prizewinner at the Geneva International Music Competition and at the Trieste Oboe Competition and received various other awards and prizes, including the scholarship of the German Music Council in 1985, the 1987 German Music Competition prize and the 1988 prize of the Wiesbaden Mozart Society.

He has appeared throughout Europe, America and Asia as a soloist, chamber musician and conductor. For some years he has served as a member of the Cologne Chamber Orchestras as a soloist and ensemble player and has a special interest in contemporary music. He gives regular international masterclasses, is professor at the Bremen Hochschule für Künste, directs the German Youth Symphony Orchestra and has won awards for his recordings.