Biography

Neal’s interest in music started in his home town of White Bear Lake, Minnesota. It was there that Neal began studying classical guitar under renowned teacher and pedagogue Alan Johnston, founder of The Minneapolis Guitar Quartet. Early on Alan gave Neal a love for classical music. Neal holds a Bachelors Degree in Classical Guitar Performance from The University of North Carolina School of the Arts under the instruction of Joseph Pecoraro. During his time there, Neal was the recipient of numerous awards and honors. Some of which include, the Bill and Judy Watson Scholarship for Music and the Aaron Shearer Scholarship for Guitar. Neal’s recent master classes include artists such as, William Kanengieser, Duo Sudamericano, Zane Forshee, Michael Kudirka, Gerald Klickstien among others. As a passionate teacher, Neal is a certified and registered guitar teacher with the Suzuki Association of the Americas. In 2014 Neal began working in an early childhood program. He focused on incorporating  process art and music into Early Childhood Learning Center located at Second Presbyterian Church, here in Kansas City. Recently Neal has been privately studying the Renaissance Lute under renowned player and performer Edward Martin. Neal recently released his album, It Is a Wonder To See. A contemporary recording of 17th century Scottish Lute music in collaboration with guitarist and percussionist Ryan Worthley. The album was a recent feature on 89.3 KCUR’s Night Tides program. In the future Neal plans to continue his work in music education by developing his own Suzuki Guitar program.