![]() “Creating a true world-class music conservatory, right here in the heart of NWA.” The Park Na Conservatory gives serious pre-collegiate string players the opportunity to learn in a conservatory-style setting, studying under the tutelage of founders Dr. ![]() Matt can also be found performing with jazz powerhouse, the Forte Quintet arranging and playing keys for local charitable giving singalong, Beer & Hymns performing at various events sponsored by the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra and as an in-demand session keyboardist at Bentonville’s Haxton Road recording studio. In early 2020, Matt completed a successful run with the Trike Theatre production, A Year With Frog and Toad. Matt has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with the likes of John Legend, Erykah Badu, Journey’s Steve Augeri, and comedian Sandra Bernhard, among others. Matt also spent several years collaborating and touring with Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Matthew Santos and hip-hop artist Lupe Fiasco. For over a decade, Matt lead his own jazz trio, the Matt Nelson Trio, and their album of original jazz, “Nostalgiamaniac” was critically acclaimed and received a notable four-star rating in Downbeat magazine. He has also accompanied, produced, and arranged for comedians, choirs, big bands, string groups, singers, and hip-hop artists, both live and in the studio. Matt has performed and toured in blues, jazz, and R&B bands, original rock bands, and high-end wedding and corporate bands. Prior to moving to Bentonville in 2017, Matt Nelson had established himself as one of Chicago’s most in-demand and versatile keyboardists. Claudia teaches piano, jazz piano, and small ensembles at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Stylistically she is equally at home with jazz standards and ballads as she is with free improvisation. She is among the rare artists who have risen above technique to deliver her music from a place deep within. Claudia’s mastery of the piano is punctuated by her soulful style and charisma. She anchored the house rhythm section for the North Arkansas Jazz Society’s Summer Jazz Concert Series, and was the featured artist at the Tulsa Oklahoma Women In Jazz Festival, The Walton Arts Center Jazz Series, and is the pianist with the 18-piece jazz big band, The Fayetteville Jazz Collective. Since returning to Fayetteville in 1998 Claudia has gained a regional following through her many performances. In 1976, Claudia enrolled at Berklee School of Music in Boston, followed by a fruitful period of performance in Houston, TX, where she met and played with people like Don Wilkerson and Arnett Cobb to name a couple. Claudia’s musical training continued through her school years, and upon entering college she studied classical piano with Beatriz Pilapil at the University of Arkansas. It was a musician in her uncle’s band who first turned her on to jazz. Classical lessons followed, along with encouragement from her uncle, Kermit Burson, who was a professional guitarist. Her interest in music was sparked at an early age and she began playing piano at age eight.
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