Chris Coleman has been playing drums since the ripe old age of 2— starting out by sitting on his uncle’s knee in church. He later traveled with his father and uncles who performed together in a gospel group.
In his youth Chris practiced relentlessly with the aim of making it big as a drummer. In Junior high school, he earned numerous awards in band competitions. He also took top honors in his hometown “Music Appreciation Awards” at the age of 14 and soon thereafter began performing and touring with several legendary gospel artists including Marvin Winans, Edwin Hawkins and Vanessa Bell Armstrong.
In 1999, Chris graduated with honors from the Drummer’s Collective in New York City. He was then offered a full scholarship to Berklee School of Music, was accepted to the Manhattan School of Music and received a personal recommendation from Ed Soph to attend the music program at North Texas State University. He opted instead to return to his hometown of Saginaw, MI and start full-time ministry as well as his own company, CrC Global LLC.
Chris took 1st place in Guitar Center’s 2001 “Drum Off” National Drum Competition, which hosted 30,000+ drummers nationwide. In 2002, he accepted a position to teach drums at the Atlanta institute of Music. In addition to his teaching, Chris spent time studying bass guitar while managing to keep an active touring schedule.
In recent years, Chris has had what he calls “a career explosion”. He toured and recorded with Praise & Worship band “Israel and New Breed”, playing on #1 Billboard hits “Again I Say Rejoice” and “I Am A Friend Of God”. And, along with performing at many of the world’s top drum festivals and educational events, Chris has been blessed to work with a wide range of headlining artists, including Chaka Kahn, Christina Aguilera, Randy Brecker, New Kids On The Block, Bootsy Collins, Sheila E., Beck, Stevie Wonder, Dave Grusin, David Sanborn, Oz Noy and many more.