Hands-on Drumming at Legacy International

My travels took me to the beautiful woodlands of Bedford, Virginia for another visit to Legacy International. At the Global Youth Village I performed and involved the Iraqi and American teens in a round of drumming, call and answer. Their program offers International teens to meet with US youth and engage in workshops for peace building, cross-cultural awareness, dialogue, leadership skill building, cultural arts and global music. What a wonderful community, which I look forward to visiting again.

Young Audiences of Virginia Performance in Roanoke

My educational Young Audiences of Virginia performance, Drumming North, South, East and West was featured in July at the Roanoke County libraries for all ages. In this program I explored the world's percussive routes and roots as I traveled from Asian temples, through Carnatic traditions in India, explored Afghan drumming to African drum calls and all the way to the Americas.

With Playwright Dan LeFranc at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts

Just finished a three-day workshop with playwright, Dan LeFranc. Dan LeFranc was awarded the 2010 New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award for his play Sixty Miles to Silver Lake. I was selected along with a team of actors to collaborate and provide input and sound design as Dan continues to prepare his new work. I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate with such a creative team of artists.

Clinic for the US Air Force Band

A day well spent with percussionists at the USAF. We spent time fine tuning techniques and delving into new skills in world percussion. We used a variety of texts the percussionists were familiar with to learn techniques on Djembe, doumbek, riqq, shakers and other world percussion instruments. The feedback was very positive.

Nomination for Helen Hayes Award

Just a few days ago I was informed that my original music conceived for the Constellation Theater production of Crazyface was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for outstanding sound design. The Helen Hayes Awards are to be awarded annually for the purpose of recognizing excellence and celebrating the professional theatre in the Washington, D.C. area. I am very honored that the nomination committee thought enough of my work to recognize it with this nomination. I am especially grateful to director Allison Arkell Stockman for being such a great collaborator and giving me this opportunity. Also my sincere gratitude goes to the wonderful and hard working actors that bring these innovative works come to life. I am delighted to rejoin Constellation this spring for an amazing Indian epic, The Ramayana, in May. I will be providing live music inspired by the classical and Bollywood music of India for this show. I will also provide preliminary music prior to the performance.

World Class Percussion Education in the Washington, DC Area

"Think you're a hopelessly Westernized drummer? Can't think outside of "2 and 4" on the snare? Fear not, Teasley is here. ...[He] not only introduces us to different world percussion styles (Southern Italian, Brazilian, South Indian, Egyptian, and more), but how we might apply rudiments and other rhythmic patterns to such instruments as tambourine, shaker, doumbek, frame drum and ultimately the drum kit [He] challenges you to become not only a more technically adept drummer, but a more creative and even innovative one."

Will Romano – Modern Drummer Magazine

Middle East and African Rhythms Travel Throughout Virginia

January and February have taken me on several tours throughout the state of Virginia. Through the generous support of Young Audiences of Virginia, Virginia Commission on the Arts and my industry sponsors I have been able to tour my solo percussion programs as well as Word-Beat programs all over the state. A recent trip sponsored by the Piedmont Arts Organization featured a percussion workshop, Word-Beat evening concert and a school program was especially rewarding. I am very grateful to these organizations which provide performances and workshops to schools, arts organizations and libraries which otherwise might not be able to afford it. This is a prime example of municipal and commerce working together for a common goal and I honored to be a part of such collaboration.

Live Performances with Constellation Theatre Company

The summer has been off to a whirlwind start. My live performances for four weeks with Constellation Theatre ended on June 6th. Additional shows were added the last two weeks to accommodate the high demand.

The Ramayana by Peter Oswald is India's epic tale of passion and adventure. My score composed specifically for this production was appropriately adventuresome! It included electric tabla, santoor, bowed Tibetan bowls, aquasonic and cymbals, Indian kanjira, doumbek and riqq. Due to the huge success and continued interest the production will be back July 2011!

The following are some press quoted from this exciting show. As always special thanks to collaborator Allison Stockman and the entire creative team and gifted actors that made this production such a success!