Adjudicators

Emily Asher

Emily Asher is a trombonist and educator from Seattle, Washington. She earned three bachelor’s degrees from the University of Washington, and her master’s in performance from CUNY Queens College. Emily has had an extensive career in both touring and recording, producing five CDs so far. After her most recent CD, If I Were a Window released in 2020, she returned to her first love of teaching in both Washington and New York. She is currently a faculty member of the Brooklyn Conservatory and previously held a position on the Jazz and Education faculty at Western Washington University.

Scott Brown

Scott Brown is a lifelong educator and native in Seattle. Graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in Music Education in 1983, he was the successor to Waldo King, who introduced jazz programs to high schools all over Seattle. During his tenure as Director of Bands at Roosevelt High School, he led their jazz band to the finals of the Essentially Ellington competition 22 times, taking four victories home along the way.

Chris Bruya

Chris Bruya has been involved in music education since 1983, teaching high school, community college and university. He retired as Emeritus Professor of Music from Central Washington University in 2021, after 20 years of service. While at CWU, he pioneered an improvisation sequence, built a small-group program, and the jazz big band was recognized as one of the finest in the country. Bruya ha served on WMEA, OMEA and IAJE boards in both Oregon and Washington, has presented at numerous regional conferences, directed honor bands in Tennessee, New York state, Nevada, and Texas, while in retirement remaining in demand as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the Northwest and beyond. In 2016, the Washington Music Educators Association honored him with the Collegiate Educator of the Year award, and in 2022 inducted him into the WMEA Hall of Fame.

Cindy Dicken

Cindy Dicken is a performer, educator and clinician in the Pacific Northwest. She has performed on the scores in films, jingles and television shows such as Wall-E, Mulan, Glee, The Simpsons, and Wandavision, as well as on albums by artists including Linkin Park, Barbra Streisand, and Michael Buble. She currently serves as Director of Vocal Music and Choirs and Assistant Professor of Music at North Idaho College.

Alex Dugdale

Alex Dugdale was adopted from Cali, Colombia, and raised in Seattle, WA.  After graduating from Roosevelt High School in 2008, Alex studied saxophone performance at the Eastman school of Music in Rochester NY. He returned to Seattle in 2013, forming his own jazz quintet and becoming a first-call performer with many of Seattle’s finest bands including the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra and The Seattle Symphony. Alex is also a passionate educator teaching both tap dance and music as a full-time teacher and guest educator for the last decade with Seattle Schools, the archdiocese, Seattle Jazz Ed, University of Washington and many other organizations. In addition to being an educator and tap dancer, Alex has flourished into an accomplished composer and arranger writing for Marina Albero, SRJO as well as his own big band, 10-piece funk ensemble and his compositions featured on his Quitinetes Debut Album "the Dugout." 

Brent Edstrom

Brent Edstrom is a pianist, composer, author, and music technologist. Composition highlights include Prairie Songs: Remembering Ántonia, a song set that premiered in France, two concertos for Jazz Piano and Orchestra, and The Song of the Lark, a jazz song cycle recorded with Tierney Sutton, Jeff Hamilton, and Jon Hamar. His academic work includes interdisciplinary research in the areas of music, recording arts, computer science, and electronics. Books for Oxford University Press include Recording on a Budget, Arduino for Musicians, and Sound and Music Projects for Eurorack and Beyond. He has also authored more than 60 books for Hal Leonard Corporation’s Jazz Piano Solos Series.

Clay Giberson

An innovative voice in the contemporary jazz scene of the Pacific Northwest, pianist and composer Clay Giberson is part of a new generation that is redefining jazz.  Emotionally compelling, the music grooves as much as it dazzles with harmony, lyricism, and rhythmic intricacy. He studied jazz piano at the University of Miami and later established himself in New York where he also earned a Master’s degree in music technology.  He has performed throughout Europe, Scandinavia, the Mediterranean, the South Pacific, the Caribbean, and Japan. Clay currently resides in Portland, Oregon where he teaches, records, produces, and performs.

Jared Hall

Trumpeter, composer and educator Jared Hall hails from Spokane, Washington. He studied at Whitworth University, the Indiana University Jacobs School Of Music and the University Of Miami’s Frost School Of Music, where he received the degree Doctor of Musical Arts in 2015. His primary teachers include Terence Blanchard, Joey Tartell, Dan Keberle, Whit Sidener, David Baker and Brian Lynch, under whom he pursued his doctoral studies. Hall is the winner of the 2013 National Trumpet Competition – Jazz Division and has performed and recorded with Paquito D’Rivera, Bob Hurst, John Daversa, Arturo Sandoval, Maria Schneider, Vincent Herring, Peter Erskine, Dave Liebman, Alan Pasqua, Brian Lynch, Ira Sullivan, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Terence Blanchard, Rick Margitza, Wycliffe Gordon, David Binney, Johnny Mathis, George Benson, Gloria Estefan, Fred Hersch, Shelly Berg, the South Florida Jazz Orchestra, and the Frost Concert Jazz Band.

Aaron Hill

Aaron Hill is the Assistant Professor of saxophone at the Washington State University, School of Music. For the past 25 years, he has performed throughout the U.S., Pacific Islands, and Europe. He has shared the stage with, among others, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Branford Marsalis, Joey Calderazzo, Jimmy Heath, Cyrus Chestnut, Chaka Khan, Isaac Hayes, and Michael McDonald. His arrangements and recordings have been heard on television and radio internationally, including on the Discovery Channel and Sesame Street. He has given masterclasses and recitals to middle school, high school, and college-level students, and has appeared as a clinician and guest conductor at regional and all-state festivals across the US.

James Miley

James Miley is a recipient of the IAJE/Gil Evans Fellowship in Jazz Composition and Professor of Music at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, where he serves as Chair of the Music Department and coordinates the composition and jazz programs. He is a founding member of the Radiohead Jazz Project, and his music has been performed in Europe and Asia, as well as by many of the top high school and university big bands throughout the United States. As a pianist, Miley can be heard with the jazz chamber group Bug (featuring saxophonist Peter Epstein), the Hashem Assadullahi Sextet with Ron Miles, and Trio Untold (with Mike Nord, guitar/electronics, and Ryan Biesack, drums). His most recent recording is "Another Life," a trio with pianist/composer Dan Cavanagh and drummer John Hollenbeck, available on S/N Alliance Records, Tokyo, Japan.

Sarah Miller

Sarah Miller is the Associate Director of Athletic Bands and Associate Professor of Trombone (Career Track) at Washington State University. In this capacity, she assists with all aspects of the athletic band program and teaches private trombone lessons, as well as performs in the Equinox Brass Quintet. Sarah currently performs as the principal trombonist in the Washington-Idaho Symphony and third trombone of the Spokane Jazz Orchestra. As a passionate chamber musician, she performs with the Crimson Brass Trio and the In Motus Tuba Quartet. In 2019, she was an invited performer and clinician at the International Women’s Brass Conference and has performed and presented at numerous International Tuba and Euphonium Conferences as well as College Music Society Conferences.

Cynthia Mullis

Originally from Albuquerque, Cynthia Mullis earned a Bachelor’s in Music Performance on saxophone from the University of Northern Colorado. She studied with saxophonist Jimmy Heath at Queens College in New York City where she earned a Master of Arts in Jazz Performance. During her time in NYC, she was a member of the all-women big band Diva. She is currently active in the Seattle music scene and performs on saxophone and woodwinds in a wide range of projects. She can be heard on numerous recordings including with Diva, the Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra, Jason Parker and her own groups. In addition to her work as a musician and instructor, she is the marketing and communications manager at Meany Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Washington.

Kate Olson

Kate Olson is an improvising saxophonist and music educator based in Seattle, WA. Since moving to Seattle in 2010, she has done her best to infiltrate the local, regional, and international improvised music scenes. She has a BA in Music (Jazz Emphasis) from the University of Wyoming and an MM in Improvisation from the University of Michigan, and is currently on the jazz faculty at Pacific Lutheran University. Kate was nominated in 2011 and 2013 for the Earshot Golden Ear Award in the Emerging Artist category, and in 2014 and 2016, she was nominated for the Best NW Instrumentalist Category.

Christopher Parkin

Christopher “Toph” Parkin was raised in Spokane. He completed a master’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi. He is the saxophone instructor at Whitworth University and holds teaching/administrative positions at various schools within the Mead district. Christopher also directs the basketball pep bands at Gonzaga University. He is an active arranger, clinician, and adjudicator as well as a Yanagisawa sponsored artist. Christopher enjoys free-lance performing with local groups including the Spokane Symphony, Spokane Jazz Orchestra and Son Dulce – a twelve piece salsa band. He and his wife have three children and live in Spokane.

Kristina Ploeger-Hekmatpanah

Kristina Ploeger-Hekmatpanah is the Director of Choral Activities and Coordinator of Undergraduate Music Education at Eastern Washington University. Previously, she has worked with children’s, MS, HS, and collegiate choirs, as well as jazz groups and classes. Kristina has served on the WA ACDA Board and is the current President-Elect of WA ACDA. She has presented numerous times for state and all-northwest NAfME/WMEA conventions and WA-ACDA Summer Institutes.  Directing Honor Groups and All-State Choirs in WA, OR, ID, and Kentucky from Elem-HS levels has given her the chance to work with a wonderful array of choristers and directors.

Jamie Shew

Jamie Shew was born in South Central Washington and has spent her life steeped in music. She earned a Bachelor’s in Music Education from Washington State University and went on to a Master’s in Vocal Performance and Jazz Studies from Western Michigan University. She has had a rich professional career as a jazz vocalist and is the coordinator of Jazz Studies at Fullerton College in Fullerton, California.

Darryl Singleton

Darryl “Doc D” Singleton is an educator and creative artist from Washington, DC by way of Texas! His principal instruments are percussion and drums. He earned his bachelor's degree from Howard University and completed graduate programs at Florida State and Boston University. Singleton taught at Duke Ellington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, the University of the District of Columbia, Grambling State University, and Texas Southern University. Currently at Washington State University, he serves as Assistant Professor of Black Music in America and Social Justice. He is also Jazz Area Coordinator, teaches jazz percussion, and performs with the faculty jazz ensemble. He continues to perform a wide range of music, building on experiences he gained as a contract musician with artists such as Gladys Knight, Phyllis Hyman, Aretha Franklin, and the Conrad Johnson Jazz Orchestra.

Steve Treseler

Steve Treseler is an award-winning Seattle-based saxophonist, composer, and teaching artist who performs and leads improvisation workshops throughout North America and Europe. Hailed as a "firebrand of the tenor saxophone” by Earshot Magazine, his music has been featured in DownBeat, the New York Times, and on NPR's Jazz Night in America. Steve is the founder of Infinite Improvisation and is a Conn Selmer performing artist.

Rob Wilkerson

Saxophonist Rob Wilkerson brings over two decades of experience as a jazz and classical performer. Rob is a member of Darcy James Argue’s Grammy-nominated big band, Secret Society, and Alan Ferber’s Grammy-nominated Big Band. From 2005 through 2022 he toured the world with Michael Bublé’s band, and, most recently, he served as a temporary Lecturer of Saxophone at the Lionel Hampton School of Music. Rob is a Selmer Paris Performing Artist and a Vandoren Artist.

Greg Yasinitsky

Greg is a widely published composer, arranger, and saxophonist active in jazz and classical music. His catalog includes commissions for jazz ensembles, orchestras, wind ensembles, chamber ensembles, solo pieces, and more, which are performed in 40 countries. Greg appears often with the world’s most acclaimed artists and leads his own big band, YAZZ Band, and quintet, Crosscurrent, which features his playing, compositions, and arrangements. His music and playing are featured on 50 recordings including music released on his label, YAZZ Recordings. He is also the Principal Saxophonist with the Spokane Symphony. Greg recently retired from the School of Music at Washington State University, where he served for 40 years as Coordinator of Jazz Studies, Regents Professor of Saxophone and Composition, and Director of the School of Music. Greg continues to travel widely to present guest performances, clinics, and workshops.