Maine Motif Issue 1, Vol. II (Fall, 2017) | Page 26

Rosana Eckert
Taylor O’Donnell
USM Faculty member, Taylor O’Donnell is a contemporary vocalist who uses her
roots in jazz, folk and R&B to explore a mixture of beloved standards and originals.
Taylor will lead this year’s SATB Jazz Choir. Highlights of Taylor’s performing career
have been an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show working with producer David
Foster, performing at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in NYC with renowned vocal
groups GoldCompany and VoicesIowa, working as a studio singer in Miami with
Grammy award winning producer Rudy Perez, singing the National Anthem for the NFL
Miami Dolphins’ home games from 2010-2011, and singing background vocals for
singer-songwriter Ben Folds.
This year’s Honors Jazz Band conductor, Kris
Berg, is one of the top-selling jazz composer/
arrangers in the world. A composer/arranger for
Belwin Jazz, he has written charts for many artists,
including Kurt Elling, Chris Vadala, Wayne
Bergeron, and Delfeayo Marsalis. His popular
series of “chicken” funk tunes have sold tens of
thousands of charts. Kris has been the Director of
Jazz Studies at Collin College near Dallas for 20
years. Under his direction Collin jazz ensembles
have performed multiple times at the Montreux
Jazz Festival in Switzerland, and at festivals all
over the United States.
Kris Berg