Arthur Houle is Professor of Music and Director of Keyboard Studies at Colorado Mesa University as well as founder and artistic director of the International Festival for Creative Pianists, a unique competition open to all young pianists up to age 19. The festival promotes classical and jazz improvisation, versatility, composition, individuality, and repertory excellence in all styles.

Dr. Houle holds degrees from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, New England Conservatory and the University of Iowa. He was the only pianist to be invited to perform twice, to critical acclaim, in the 1995 International Chopin Music Festival. He has given coast-to-coast lecture/recitals and master classes at institutions such as Eastman School of Music, Dartmouth College, New England Conservatory, Longy School of Music, and for various teacher organizations. Houle also presents often for national and regional professional conferences.

A critically acclaimed performer and recipient of a 2011 Music Teachers National Association Fellow Award, Houle has written for numerous periodicals. In 2008, the Hal Leonard Corporation published his Cowboy Jazz, a collection of original compositions for intermediate students. Houle's new publisher, Abundant Silence Publishing (http://abundantsilencepublishing.com), has published Cowboy Jazz II and will be issuing other original compositions for both students and professional musicians.

A private teacher since the age of thirteen, Houle taught previously at New England Conservatory, Boston Conservatory, the College of Idaho, and the Universities of Iowa, North Dakota and Texas-Austin.