Eight Eight Time
Kendrah Butler-Waters is a Philadelphia-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator, and a 2025 Pew Fellow. A former Kimmel Center Jazz Resident, her commissioned works span broadcast, public art, and interdisciplinary collaborations. Her music honors Black cultural histories, and her 2026 album, The Commissioned Jawn, showcases her expansive, community-rooted compositional voice.
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Suzzette Ortiz is an award-winning pianist, composer, and choral conductor whose work unites artistry and social impact. A transformative music educator in Camden, NJ, she led acclaimed choirs to international honors. Now retired from teaching, she continues composing, conducting, and advocating through community-focused projects centered on justice, healing, and connection.
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Sumi Tonooka is an acclaimed composer and pianist praised as “fierce” and “compelling” by major critics. With fifteen recordings and award-winning work spanning jazz, symphonic, chamber, dance, and film, she remains a vital creative voice. A 2023 Pew Fellow, she continues premiering major commissioned works, including orchestral and symphonic projects.
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Steinway Artist Terry Klinefelter is a versatile pianist praised as “on the cosmic cusp where Mozart meets Mingus.” Equally at home in jazz and classical settings, she served as Principal Keyboard with the Harrisburg Symphony and taught at West Chester University. Her recordings and collaborations span jazz, pop, and innovative projects.
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About Eight Eight Time
Eight Eight Time brings together four pianists united by a vision of art as a catalyst for healing and change. Through original compositions that weave piano, poetry, visuals, and voice, we engage audiences in conversations around social justice and collective renewal, inviting participation in an experience that uplifts and unites.
