The UA Community Music School would like to bring to your attention one of its instructors, Chris Teal, and some of the awesome things he is bringing to Northwest Arkansas this spring. Recently, his group The Chris Teal Trio released its newest album Analog Dreams. The album features professor Chris Teal on drums, Alexa Tarantino on saxophone and Katie Ernst on bass. The album is available to stream and buy online at https://song.link/album/i/1449628113.

Teal is also making waves in the Ozarks by launching the first annual Fayetteville Jazz Festival in April! Hosted by CMS, the Institute for Creative Music (IfCM), and Fayetteville Public Library, the two-day music festival will be Friday and Saturday, April 12-13. The event is comprised of clinics, performance workshops, and performances featuring local groups and special guest saxophonist Doug Stone. Visit fayettevillejazzfestival.com for details.

Alongside his busy schedule performing and organizing the Fayetteville Jazz Festival, Teal instructs the youth and adult NWA Jazz Workshops, Summer Jazz Camps, and drum set private lessons for CMS. Delve into the world of jazz in a group setting by joining the NWA Jazz Workshops and the Summer Jazz Camps. Participants work alongside other musicians in a performance-centric setting. If the individualized approach is more your style, hone your drum set skills in Private Lessons with Chris Teal. All ages and levels of musicians are eligible to participate in each program.  

A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and Whitworth University, Teal is the co-director of the Institute for Creative Music. Teal strives to build new opportunities for students to experience the arts by teaching improvisation, aural learning, and composition through the Institute for Creative Music. The IfCM recently launched "Creative Jazz Fundamentals," an online school for learning jazz. Along with other Teaching Artists from the Institute for Creative Music, Teal has presented workshops and performances at schools throughout the United States and spoken at the 2017 NYU Impact Conference and 2015 TEDxFlourCity Conference.