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Dutcher Snedeker

Hard working, determined, and trying to walk humbly forward in music

About Me

I am a graduate from Grand Valley State University with Bachelor's Music Performance on Piano with an additional Piano Pedagogy Certification. I have been playing piano for 15 years now and I have grasp on a wide range of musical styles. I perform in Brad Fritcher's MOODS, Andy Frisinger, DidyMo and Hannah Rose and The GravesTones. I have also been a member of Grand Valley's New Music Ensemble, Brad Fritcher + Trois, Grand Valley's Jazz Combo, Mizpah, Big Band Nouveau, and Truth in Jazz Orchestra.

I have lived in Grand Rapids, MI my whole life, learning a lot of styles and instruments. I have performed for various ministry based groups, including worship teams for Madison Square Church's Youth Group, Children's Church, main worship services, and at the Where U At? Urban Youth Conference in 2009-2011. I have also been employed or subbed in at Lutheran, Catholic, and non- denominational churches.

I regularly accompany students at Grand Valley State University, and while I've had experience with all instrument types, my main focus is performing and developing my sax accompaniment repertoire for recitals, competitions, and other campus and public performances.

I write and arrange parts for the groups that I am involved (aside from large ensembles), with 6 original works on Brad Fritcher + Trois'​ two albums. One track, “Smooth Silk”​, won the jazz category for Art Prize 2013. Each album has been nominated for different Jammy awards by WYCE, with The Graves Tones winning “Best Blues Album” at the Jammies XVI. I have performed live with different artists on Blue Lake Public Radio, Localspins, WYCE, and Eight West. I have worked with producers at Mackinaw Harvest Studios, Joint Heir Studios, Blue Lake Studios, Double Phelix, Atelier Studios, and Amber Lit Studios, in addition to independent studio sessions at GV and with other artists.

My focus is in performance, but I am actively diversifying my skills in other instruments, audio engineering, and video production.

My Jazz Story

I love jazz because it encourages exploration and finding your own voice! I was first exposed to jazz through the soundtracks of my childhood - hearing big band music as a toddler, learning songs through my lessons as an elementary school students, and especially when I would check out Bud Powell, Oscar Peterson, and Art Tatum records from the library as a middle schooler trying to find these sounds wherever I could. I have had the honor to meet a bunch of artists in my field, too many to count! Whether they're legacy artists, prominent educators in my region, talented coastal or international players in my age range, or touring artists I've opened for or worked sound for, it's been a wild ride so far! The best show I ever attended was probably a tie between Herbie Hancock at Meijer Gardens with a killer touring band and Tigran Hamasyan's trio! Stellar musicianship all around, near perfect execution, emotional depth, complex arrangements and improvisations, and with such powerful presence! The first jazz record I received was a Art Tatum's greatest hits from my late grandpa, who was a huge supporter of my career and got me hooked on Tatum's virtuosity and fearless command of the instrument. My advice to new listeners is to be open to all forms of music. Jazz can sometimes get lost in the sauce of the greats or playing the "right" vocabulary to posture in front of academics or your peers, but true art is made from a blending of experiences, storytelling, and understanding the cross-pollination that improvisational-based music can afford you. Jazz has helped me perform with all types of groups, from Americana/Bluegrass to contemporary classical chamber ensembles to all manner of jobbing gigs.