Chris hails from Lake Jackson, Texas, a small town, South of Houston, and earned his B.M. in Music Education at Sam Houston State University as a certified EC-12 music teacher in Texas. While at Sam Houston, Chris was a member of the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, Old Main Brass Choir, “Bearkat” Marching Band, and Basketball Band. Chris is also an active member of the International Trumpet Guild, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Jazz Educators Association, The American Federation of Musicians, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

As an educator, Chris was an active performer at several TMEA conference events and featured on 3 Jazz Albums along with live solo on-stage performances.

Chris Cermak is a proven and experienced professional trumpet artist who can comfortably play in both jazz and classical styles. He has performed for thousands of people and fans across the world playing trumpet in show-bands on cruise ships plus big bands and orchestras in and around the Houston metro area.

Chris has also performed with many world renown jazz artists, including Bobby Shew, Allen Vizzutti, Marvin Stamm, Wayne Bergeron, Ingrid Jensen, Mic Gillette, Bill Watrous, Michael Dease, Paquito d’Rivera, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Mike Stern, Molly Ringwald, Chad Shoopman, Ron Wilkins, Jeff Kashiwa, and Steve Lippia.

In 2016, Chris auditioned and won a coveted spot playing trumpet in the Queen’s Room Orchestra on the Cunard Line MS Queen Elizabeth. He then spent his summer playing trumpet around the British Isles and throughout the Mediterranean aboard the P&O Oriana cruise liner. In late 2016, Chris briefly filled in onboard the Crystal Serenity tour boat as a member of their featured performing show-band.

Chris continues to maintain an active on-stage schedule performing with many groups around the Greater Houston Area, including the Kingwood Big Band, Brazosport Jazz Orchestra, Brazosport Big Band, and the Royal Dukes Band. Chris has also worked as a utility/substitute trumpet player with the Galveston Symphony Orchestras, as well as a herald trumpeter with Texas Brass for the “Texas Renaissance Festival”. Chris also maintains a private lesson studio via Zoom, and is the Brass Private Lesson Instructor for Madisonville ISD. Many of Chris’s students have achieved region and area level recognition awards with some advancing to the Texas All State and Jazz Bands.

Chris’s playing can be heard with the SHSU Jazz Ensemble on the studio albums “Fire Dance”(2016) and “Shoreline Drive”(2020) and on a live album recorded at the 2016 Texas Music Educators Association convention distributed by Mark Custom Recordings. Additionally, Chris’s playing can be heard on the Brazosport Big Band’s 2019 live album “Birkland” which streams on most major platforms.

Currently Chris lives in Huntsville, TX with his wife, Karen. They enjoy going on walks, video games, cooking, doing DIY projects, and playing duets together.

Chris endorses and plays exclusively Phaeton model Trumpet PHT-LV-1200 & Flugelhorn PHTF-2900. Both are Phaeton’s custom made Las Vegas award winning models.

Chris can be contacted at: c.chris.cermak@gmail.com

He is currently residing in Huntsville, Tx..

His Website is: www.chriscermak.com.