
About Essential Jazz
The first of its kind in the Boise area, Essential Jazz is the brainchild of Founder and Director, Linda Elliott Schmidt. With the help of Quinn Van Paepeghem and many friends and colleagues, this group was started in January of 2013.
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Essential Jazz is made up of 15 singers and 4 combo members. The singers' end is made up of many local choir educators and other stand-out singers, often former singers of the choir directors of the group. The combo is made up of outstanding performing musicians and educators from the Treasure Valley.
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We came together with a love for the beauty and power of music, and the message that can be shared through music. We stay together out of the joy of rehearsing and performing great music, and because of the great fun and fellowship of vocal jazz lovers spending time together.
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Essential Jazz debuted in May 2013 for the Idaho Jazz Society Scholarship Fundraiser at the Riverside Hotel Sapphire Room. Since then, EJ has continued to perform around the Treasure Valley and is looking forward to continuing to sing and play for music enthusiasts.
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Our repertoire includes charts from Frank Sinatra to Jamie Cullum to Little Big Town. We have an eclectic program that is rich with tradition, but also features newer pieces and newer artists. Our emphasis is to bring joy through music to our community and to encourage music education.
Check out our upcoming calendar and our personnel bios to see what Essential Jazz is all about.

THE SINGERS
BRIAN ATKINSON
// bass
Educational Technologist; Sound guru; former member of Soundsation; Full Sail Univ. grad
ADRIA FERGUSON
// soprano
Nurse at St. Luke's; former member of Soundsation; Timberline grad
DAVID GARDNER
// tenor
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JUSTIN GILBERT
// bass
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SIDNEY HUDSON
// soprano
Choral Director; BSU grad
SETH MEYERS
// tenor
Capt in Idaho Army Nat'l Guard; Borah High and BYU-Igrad
HEATHER RAY
// soprano
Former Choral Director - Borah High, East Jr High; Borah High & Concordia College grad
JOSH RAY
// bass
Riverglen Jr. High (former elementary music reacher in Boise district); Capital
High & BSU grad
CINDY ROSEN
// alto
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Certified Health Coach
(former teacher in
Meridian, Jerome, & Boise); BSU grad
MARIANNE SAUNDERS
// alto
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LINDA SCHMIDT
// soprano
Adjunct Voice Instructor at NNU and studio voice teacher (formerly at Capital High and Musie Consultant in Boise district: vocals
with the New Modernaires; BSU and U of I grad
TATIA TOTARICA
// alto
Boise State Math/STEM-Ed professor (former math teacher in Boise district); Univ. of Utah and BSU grad
TED TOTARICA
// tenor
Former Jefferson Elementary Principal - Boise District; former
choral director at Borah High); vocalist with
The New Modernaires;
BSU, Univ of Utah, &
U ot grad
QUINN
VAN PAEPEGHEM
// bass
Vocal jazz director at NNU (former teacher in Meridian Boise and BSU); guitarist in The VanPaepeghem
Quartet; BSU grad
SHIRLEY
VAN PAEPEGHEM
// alto
Former Vocal Music teacher at North Star
Charter School; vocalist in The VanPaepeghem Quartet and The New Modernaires; BSU grad