Today we’d like to introduce you to Caleb Chapman. Them and their team share their story with us below:
In November of 1998, college students Caleb Chapman and Alison Glenn launched a small music school in American Fork, Utah, named the Crescent School of Music. Housed in a tiny brick building, the school embarked with a handful of private instructors and just over 50 students hoping to fill a void in private music instruction in Utah. Before long, Chapman launched the first of the ensembles that would become the future of the business.
As the ensemble program swelled, Chapman realized that there was immense value in learning in a group format. In 2008, the business pivoted from the traditional private instruction model to one exclusively made up of bands focused on contemporary styles, including rock, pop, jazz, funk, soul, R&B, and more. With this change, the business was rebranded as Caleb Chapman’s Soundhouse. The business remains the only one of its kind in the nation, combining music instruction with professional-level performing, recording, and touring experiences and the opportunity to perform with some of the biggest names in music, including members of the Dave Matthews Band, The Killers, Neon Trees, Journey, AC/DC, the Saturday Night Live Band, the Blues Brothers, Genesis, Toto, and more!
Today, the Soundhouse is recognized as the national leader in musician training and has dramatically impacted the lives of the thousands of musicians who have participated. The Soundhouse bands are designed for musicians ages 8-18 and span a wide variety of styles. Our business has won 90 of the prestigious DownBeat Awards (recognizing the nation’s top musicians), 35 Best of State Medals in the categories of arts and education, and three highly coveted Best of State Statue (BOSS) Awards from Utah (the most of any business in any industry to achieve this honor).
Across the country, top-tier colleges actively seek alumni from the award-winning Soundhouse. And alumni of the Soundhouse program can be found in chart-topping bands like Imagine Dragons, The Moth & The Flame, the Strike, Redlight King, and Mondo Cozmo, to name a few. More importantly, over the last decade, nearly every one of our high school seniors have received college scholarships for music and/or academics with an average total of well over $1M in scholarship offers annually. Thousands of former Soundhouse musicians now lead successful careers in business, law, medicine, technology, and other fields of impact. Former Soundhouse musicians have graduated from top music schools including Juilliard, Berklee College of Music, the New England Conservatory, University of Southern California, University of Miami, University of North Texas, and Eastman School of Music, along with other premier universities.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Is there EVER a smooth road in starting a business?! Our path has been strewn with one massive challenge after another. In 2005 I raised several millions of dollars in venture funding, but I also gave up control in the process. That meant that when the investment group decided to close the business without warning in 2008 due to the global recession, there was absolutely nothing I could do. After ten years of building my business and putting my heart, soul, and every penny I had into it, I lost everything and was forced to start from scratch, moving from a 16,000 sq ft facility to a 2,000 sq ft warehouse. But that reset ended up being an incredible opportunity for me to retool our offering and that marked the beginning of our business racking up award after award in our industry – something that would have never happened if things had stayed on course.
Virtually all businesses faced a serious challenge with COVID. As a business that relied on having all of our clients meet in large groups, we were facing almost certain permanent loss of our business. Instead, in response to the global pandemic, the Soundhouse pivoted almost literally overnight in March of 2020 and pioneered a revolutionary platform featuring online rehearsals and performances by virtual bands — assembled with members worldwide and produced by GRAMMY-caliber artists. For the first time, the Soundhouse bands expanded to include members across the globe and on multiple continents. The business continues to use this technology post-pandemic to connect musicians and instructors around the world. We were lucky to be able to not only survive the challenge but use it to create new opportunities for our business.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a GRAMMY-nominated educator, producer, author, executive, and saxophonist. I am probably best known as a visionary in modern music education.
Since 2005 I have been lucky enough to share the stage with over 200 top-tier artists, including GRAMMY-winners Branford Marsalis, David Sanborn, Gordon Goodwin, Joe Lovano, Poncho Sanchez, Bob Mintzer, Randy Brecker, Nicholas Payton, Esperanza Spalding, Eric Marienthal, Dave Weckl, Ernie Watts, Peter Erskine, and Dave Samuels. Utah Governor Gary Herbert presented me with the prestigious 2013 “Governor’s Performing Artist Award,” given to one artist annually for significant contributions to art in Utah.
My flagship ensemble at the Soundhouse, the Crescent Super Band, has a long list of performance credits that includes many of the world’s most prestigious music festivals in countries including Cuba, England, Mexico, China, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, The Netherlands, Germany, and more. In May of 2013, the band made its headlining debut at Carnegie Hall to a packed house. Additionally, the band was featured at Wynton Marsalis’ “Essentially Ellington Festival” at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
In 2011, I was named the “John LaPorta International Jazz Educator of the Year,” one of the highest honors in music education. Age 37 at the time, I was the youngest ever to receive this honor. Additionally, I have been named Utah’s “Best Educator” (2011) and “Best Music Educator” (2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) by Utah Best of State. I recently served as President for the Jazz Education Network (JEN), the world’s leading organization for jazz education and advocacy. I was also invited to be the director of the 2014 Jazz Band of America in Indianapolis.
My book, “The Articulate Jazz Musician”, written with Dave Matthews Band saxophonist and multi-GRAMMY winner, Jeff Coffin, was released by Alfred Music in January 2013 and has sold more than 15,000 copies.
As a saxophonist, I’m a fixture in the Utah scene and have performed the National Anthem on solo saxophone at NBA games for the Boston Celtics, the Miami Heat, the Denver Nuggets, the Washington Wizards, and the Utah Jazz. My playing is featured on recordings by dozens of artists, including the GRAMMY-winning DJ Kaskade. In 2018 I was part of the Neon Trees touring band.
Most recently, I released my new album with David Osmond (The Osmond Chapman Orchestra), “There’s More Where That Came From”. The album was released to fantastic reviews on Nashville’s Club44 Records and features members of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Tower of Power. The album release event was held in June 2021 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on a joint bill with Earth, Wind, and Fire.
Any big plans?
We have outgrown our current space in American Fork after being there for 10 years. We are actively looking for a much larger rehearsal and recording studio to better serve our clients. Additionally, we are planning to open satellite locations in Park City and David Counties. Within the next five years, we plan to begin a national roll-out of the Soundhouse model.
As in previous years, we have some amazing tours planned for our musicians this coming year and already have major performances booked in Mexico, England, Spain, Croatia, and more!
Pricing:
- Band fees for young musicians starting at $125 per month
Contact Info:
- Email: info@ccsoundhouse.com
- Website: ccsoundhouse.com
- Instagram: @ccsoundhouse
- Facebook: @ccsoundhouse
