Jaden Tabor

Jaden Tabor is a vocalist, arranger, composer, engineer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Iowa City, Iowa. She graduated from the School for Music Vocations in Creston, Iowa, where she attained an Associate of Applied Arts degree in Professional Music. Jaden is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Texas, where she majors in Jazz Studies with an emphasis on jazz voice and minors in Music Business.

At an early age, Jaden took up the saxophone and quickly became involved in her school’s jazz, concert, pep, and marching bands through elementary, middle, and high school. It was in high school that she fell in love with singing when she joined the concert, honor, and jazz choirs at her school. Jaden was also involved in her high school’s theatre department, both on stage and playing multiple instruments in the orchestra pit. She was involved in many productions, including “Beauty and the Beast”, “Freaky Friday”, “Secret Garden”, “Elf the Musical”, “Sister Act”, and “My Son Pinnochio”.

During her time at the School for Music V ocations, Jaden studied with Dr. Tyler Thomas, Tobi Crawford, and Dr. Jeremy Fox. Through the school, she gained skills in jazz voice, classical voice, contemporary voice, jazz piano, classical piano, jazz theory, classical theory, aural skills, arranging, electric bass, drums, conducting, composition, producing, and studio engineering. Jaden was also an active member in many ensembles at the SMV , including their premier vocal jazz ensemble, First Take, with whom she won two Downbeat awards, performed at the 2023 National American Choral Director’s Association Conference, and performed at the 2024 Jazz Education Network Conference. She was also a member of the school’s jazz combo, chamber choir, and popular music ensemble. Jaden was a counselor for the 2023 and 2024 SMV Vocal Jazz Camps, where she taught private voice lessons, music theory classes, and coached students on their selected solo performance repertoire.

In her endless pursuit of knowledge, Jaden is furthering her education at the University of North Texas, studying jazz voice under Jennifer Barnes and Rosana Eckert. So far during her time at UNT, she has sung with Downbeat award-winning Avenue C, the Six O’Clock Lab Band, and founded Downbeat award-winning a cappella group, Surround Sound. Jaden has won five Downbeat awards across multiple categories.

Jaden’s teaching philosophy has been impacted by the educators and students she hasworked with over the years. Her philosophy centers around the idea that it is never too late to learn and everyone should have the opportunity to pursue music. Taking lessons is about more than learning music; it is also about building life skills that can improve areas of life that are non-music related. Jaden believes that music is fueled by emotions, and she works to create a safe space for her students to explore this through the medium of music. She knows that responsibility, confidence, problem-solving, and communication are all lifelong skills that she encourages her students to develop to support them in their journeys wherever they may go.

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