COMMENCEMENT BAY JAZZ FESTIVAL
ADJUDICATORS
Instrumental
Brian Kirk
Drummer/Percussionist/Composer/Educator, born in Indianapolis, Indiana where he attended Indiana University, a graduate of California State University East Bay (B.A. Music) and New York University (M.A. Jazz Contemporary Music). The son of Indianapolis Hall of Fame drummer and educator Dr. Willis Kirk, Brian grew up in San Francisco where he performed with Gladys Knight, Marlena Shaw, Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Bishop Norman Williams, John Handy, and Jessica Williams. Brian spent ten years in New York City where he was a member of Lou Donaldson, Jack McDuff, and Little Jimmy Scott Bands. He also performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Locke, Andrew Hill, the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, and the Count Basie Orchestra. He has also appeared with Piano Duo Landsberg and Yount, in concerts featuring the Baltimore Symphony, Philadelphia, Pops Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, and the Miami Symphony to name a few.
Mr. Kirk was also first call on New York's Broadway show scene performing in "Ain't Misbehavin'" for over ten years (one year with the production featuring The Pointer Sisters), "Five Guys Named Moe", "Fiddler on the Roof", "Les Miserables", "Jelly's Last Jam", featuring Gregory Hines, and "Bring on the Noise Bring in the Funk", featuring Savion Glover. Brian has made numerous recordings including the soundtracks from "Philadelphia" starring Tom Hanks, "The Money Train", "A Rage in Harlem", starring Forrest Whitaker, and the original soundtracks of David Lynch's "Twin Peaks-Fire Walk With Me", "Five Guys Named Moe", and The Pointer Sisters' "Ain't Misbehavin'" on Sony Records.
Mr. Kirk is a Professor of Jazz, Electronic Music, Music Theory, Percussion at Seattle Central College, in Seattle, Washington. He is a Whitely Scholar (University of Washington) and is an active member of the Washington Music Educators Association, a collective of Washington State educators, whose purpose is to provide students with a strong foundation in music education and musical performance.
Dave Barduhn
Dave Barduhn received his education at Puccini Elementary, Buddy Rich JH, Count Basie HS, Sarah Vaughan CC, and the University of Stan Kenton. He has played piano for Ernie Andrews, Dianne Reeves, Diane Shuur, Mark Murphy, and several Stan Kenton Alumni Bands. In 2014 Dave conducted the Washington All-State Honor Jazz Choir featuring Don Shelton. His extensive list of jazz band charts are published with Hal Leonard and his vocal jazz with Goombah (SMP) Publications. After 30 years of teaching both vocal and instrumental jazz (his VJ group Genesis receiving 8 Downbeat awards and performing at 10 national conventions while at Mt. Hood CC) Dave is now on parole. However by a pardon from Pope Francis, Dave’s retirement was briefly interrupted and for two years was the jazz band director at the University of Portland. You are now to refer to him as “Father Barduhn”. So there!
Chris Bruya
Chris Bruya has been involved in music education for more than 37 years, teaching high school, community college and university, the last 20 years at CWU, retiring in 2021 as Emeritus Professor of Music. While at CWU he pioneered an improvisation sequence, built a small-group jazz program, and the jazz big band was recognized as one of the finest in the country, performing at the Montreux, North Sea and the Next Generation jazz festivals and three Jazz Education Network conferences. In 2015 the band placed first at the Next Generation Festival, which included a performance at the Monterey Jazz Festival. In 2015 the band was featured on Barney McClure’s CD Show Me! and the 2008 In A Mellow Tone. Most recently the band won the undergraduate asynchronous recording category of the 2022 Downbeat Magazine Student Awards based upon work completed during his final year at CWU. There are over 150 live-recorded YouTube videos of the band, recognized as some of the strongest examples of the big band literature, being used as examples of “how-to-play” by ensembles throughout the world. Bruya has served on WMEA, OMEA and IAJE boards in both Oregon and Washington, presented at regional conferences, directed honor bands in New York state, Nevada, and Texas, while in retirement remaining in demand as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the Northwest and beyond. In 2016 WMEA honored him with the Collegiate Educator of the Year award, and in 2022 inducted him into the WMEA Hall of Fame.
Megan Vinther
Vocal
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Megan Vinther is a Seattle area composer, educator, and performer who is passionate about creating welcoming communities through music. She has taught in secondary public schools since 2003 and is currently the director of instrumental music at Everett High School in Everett, Washington, and conducts the Edmonds College Concert Band. Her compositions are published with Murphy Music, Carl Fischer Music, Brava Jazz, Randall Standridge Music, and at MeganVintherMusic.com.
Megan holds a B.M.E. and M.M.E. from the University of Oregon. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Megan has spent the entirety of her career in Washington and Oregon. Recent commissions and collaborations with the Wintergrass Youth Orchestra, North County Honor Band, and Bluegene Brass Quintet, as well as Seattle JazzEd Girls’ Ellington Band to premiere her jazz suite “Salish,” have been met with delight by conductors, performers, and audiences alike.
In her free time, Megan enjoys performing with her Celtic band – The Stumbling Fiddler, spending time on the water, and traveling. Megan and her husband/musical partner, Nick, have three children, two cats, and a dog named Murphy.
Jeff Baker
Called “...one of the best male vocalists in the jazz world today,” by WCLK in Atlanta, Jeff Baker has become one of the most significant talents in the next generation of jazz vocalists. His diverse musical recordings, exciting live performances, and infectious energy and personality have gained him accolades from critics and listeners alike. Baker has headlined numerous festivals and clubs, and has recorded, performed, and shared Festival billing with some of jazz music’s top artists including: Ray Brown, Gene Harris, Brian Blade, John Patitucci, Steve Wilson, Marquis Hill, the Yellow Jackets, Mose Allison, Kenny Werner, Joey DeFrancesco, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe LaBarbera, Bruce Barth, Darrell Grant, Karrin Allyson, Nancy King, Henry Butler, Dave Frishberg, Orrin Evans, George Colligan, and many more!
Jeff has performed throughout the U.S., and has enjoyed performance engagements in central Europe and South Africa. His four critically acclaimed CD releases on the Origin/OA2 Records imprint have charted on the ‘Jazzweek’ International Radio Top 50, have been played on over 200 stations internationally, were Top 5 on NPR’s nationally syndicated “Jazz Works” radio program, and were #1 on stations in Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Portland, Buffalo, St. Louis, Cape Town, SA and New Zealand.
Baker is a sought after jazz educator, adjudicating numerous festivals, and working in clinics with some of the nations very best high school and college jazz programs. Bakers students have won over 100 Top Awards at festivals and competitions throughout the U.S., including being 4x finalists to the Monterey Jazz Festival ‘Next Generation Competition’ and winning 10 Downbeat Magazine Student Music Awards, including the 2010, 12' & 13' High School Vocal Solo Winners, and the 2012 Winner for Large Vocal Jazz Ensemble. Additionally, Baker’s students have been invited to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, and the National Cathedral.
Jeff released his fifth recording, 'PHRASES' in 2018 featuring: Brian Blade, Steve Wilson, Marquis Hill, Clark Sommers, Gregory Uhlman, Geof Bradfield & Darrell Grant. Baker is an ACDA Certified Clinician/Adjudicator, a current member of JEN, NAFME, and NARAS or the GRAMMY Foundation). Jeff Baker resides in Portland, OR, is the former Director of the Jazz+Contemporary Voice at Portland State University, and is the Co-Founder of the Jazz Forward Competition.
Amanda Taylor
Amanda Taylor is a two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning artist specializing in creating music for vocal ensembles. Pentatonix founder & producer Ben Bram says, “Amanda’s arrangements are absolutely stunning. She has the magical ability to create works that are so dazzling and complex, yet still satisfyingly singable, tasteful, and accessible to all listeners.” A Seattle native, Taylor grew up in some of the city’s most prestigious ensembles; Seattle Youth Symphony, Vocalpoint! Seattle, and the Seattle Girls’ Choir. It was in these ensembles that Taylor developed a deep love for harmony & vocal writing. She spent her years as a young musician transcribing, multi-tracking her favorite choral pieces, and composing & arranging her own music. At 16, she joined Seattle-based jazz ensemble Groove for Thought as their lead soprano, and quickly began learning to write for contemporary a cappella & vocal jazz. Shortly after joining the ensemble, Groove for Thought appeared on NBC’s hit show, “The Sing-Off” (Season 2, 2010), where some of Taylor’s first vocal arrangements premiered. The same year, Taylor attended Central Washington University to study music composition. Over the course of her studies, she strayed from traditional composition in favor of contemporary arranging and songwriting. She began exploring more collaborative opportunities, and began performing her own music locally. After receiving her Composition degree (2013), Taylor moved to Nashville in search of a new creative experience. She spent two years in Tennessee, doing studio work, bartending, and collaborating with other artists. In 2015, she released her first self-produced EP, “Little Hearts, Big Words”. Since her time in Nashville, Taylor has travelled the U.S. to teach and write. Her previous faculty positions include A Cappella Academy (LA), Mount Si High School (WA) Bellevue College (WA), Northwest College (WY), & the University of Southern California (CA). An active performer and clinician internationally, her recent appearances as a guest clinician or performer include festivals in California, Oregon, Washington, Oklahoma, Alaska, & British Columbia. She has also served as the guest conductor for All-State & Honor Vocal Jazz Ensembles for Wyoming, Nebraska, BCMEA, NWACDA, and ILMEA.
As of 2025, she has relocated to the Boston area. In 2019, Taylor joined forces with artists Sara Gazarek, Johnaye Kendrick, & Erin Bentlage to form “vocal supergroup” säje. After debuting an inspiring and energized set at the 2020 Jazz Education Network Conference in New Orleans in January 2020, säje went on to tour multiple jazz festivals and clubs from January to March. During quarantine, säje received their first GRAMMY® nomination for their first composition “Desert Song”, in the Best Arrangement Instruments and Vocals category. They also received the John Lennon Songwriting Contest Grand Prize Award for their second composition “Wisteria”, as well as their first Jazz Journalists Association Award Nomination for “Best Vocal Jazz Group”. After the release of their self-titled debut album, they received a GRAMMY® Award for their collaboration with sensational musician Jacob Collier, in the Best Arrangement Instruments and Vocals category. In 2024, Taylor received three new GRAMMY® nominations, both with säje and without; in 2025, she received her second GRAMMY® Award for säje original composition, “Alma”. Taylor is a frequent guest clinician and adjudicator at various vocal jazz festivals, and continues to arrange for both scholastic and professional vocal ensembles (The Manhattan Transfer, Chanticleer, Kings Return). She is an active composer/arranger, private teacher & studio singer (World of Warcraft, Diablo III, Destiny, Shadow of Mordor, DOTA, and more).
Kelly Eisenhour
Kelly Eisenhour received her B.Mus. in Vocal Performance from Berklee College of Music, and her M.Mus. in Jazz Studies, Composition and Performance from the University of Utah. Kelly has taught at Green River College since 2008, previously directing the vocal jazz program at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She was voted “Distinguished Faculty” by her Green River colleagues in 2011, and teaches a variety of music classes, including directing the Green River Jazz Voices, an award-winning jazz choir, most recently receiving a 1st place ranking at the Reno Jazz Festival in 2019. As a professional singer, Kelly has released a number of jazz albums, the latest in March 2022 titled "I Just Found Out About Love” featuring Jeff Hamilton, Tamir Hendleman, and Christoph Luty. Previously, her album "Seek and Find," featuring Bob Mintzer, reached #14 on the national JazzWeek charts, and remained in the top 100 for 7 months. In her early career as a full-time vocalist Kelly enjoyed long-running singing engagements in Las Vegas production shows, performing in numerous national and international jazz festivals, and touring as a guest soloist with the Boston Pops. She performed for a number of years as a backup vocalist with Gladys Knight and participated in the 2006 Grammy award winning gospel choir album, “Gladys Knight: One Voice,” where she served as songwriter, soloist, co-arranger, and assistant choir director.