About

Caleb Nei is a Washington, DC area jazz pianist who has played hundreds of events and concerts in the past years. He’s focused on providing elegant, engaging music to elevate important events.

On most weekends Caleb can be found somewhere in the greater Northern Virginia area. He loves playing solo piano and in small combo situations. He finds great joy in making events memorable in a way only live music can and finds it an honor to be involved in the highlights of people’s lives: weddings, anniversaries, retirement parties, holiday parties. He was the house pianist at V2, a piano bar in Winchester for 10+ years and now appears regularly at Travinia Italian Kitchen and Lightfoot Restaurant in Leesburg, VA.

Caleb Nei, a native of Huntington, Indiana, graduated from his hometown school, Huntington University, with a bachelor of arts in music with a concentration in music for the contemporary church. He has also studied jazz piano and jazz arranging at Shenandoah University.

Some of the teachers who have had the most impact on his life include: Eric Clancy (jazz piano), Dr. Marlene Schleiffer (composition), Dr. Patricia Spedden (classical piano), and Dr. Robert Larson (jazz piano).

Caleb spent some years on staff at Sono Luminus in Boyce, VA. Sono Luminus is a GRAMMY-winning studio and record label specializing in high-definition recordings of classical and acoustic music. One of Sono Luminus’ specializations is piano recording, which suits Caleb just fine.

Caleb is the Worship Arts Director at Emmaus Church in Berryville, VA where he leads worship on Sunday morning, plans services, rehearses several bands and generally tries to do his share to keep things running smoothly.

A few years back, he maintained a private piano studio of 45 students per week. Nowadays, it’s a far more manageable size. Caleb has been an adjunct faculty member in the jazz department at Shenandoah University. In the summer, Caleb he has worked for various camps and workshops including REVEAL Worship Arts Camp in Purcellville, VA; The Catoctin School of Music Rock Camp; and LEAD in Roanoke, VA. In past years he has taught for the jazz track of PAVAN, the Virginia Governor’s School. He’s also the featured pianist for The Great Courses offering, Music Theory: The Foundation of Great Music.

His music is played by NPR, including on Performance Today, the most listened-to daily classical music radio program in the United States, with 1.2 million listeners on 237 stations.

He has three children, a wife, and a dog and loves where God has him. He has no additional hobbies because…well…he thinks he has enough going on right now.