Tara Buzash: About Tara

Tara Buzash is a jazz pianist, composer, and instructor in the New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania area. She has been performing at concerts, festivals, restaurants, parties, weddings, and events since 1991. Some of the venues where Tara has appeared include Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus in Philadelphia, World Cafe Live in Philadelphia, the Hilton Waldorf-Astoria and The Carlyle in downtown Manhattan, PNC Bank Arena, the Hyatt Hotels in Jersey City and Princeton, NJ, the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, PA, the New Jersey Independent Music Festival, Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ, and Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ. Princeton Symphony Orchestra Conductor (1986-2007) Mark Laycock says, "She is a brilliant pianist and composer," and Grammy-nominated composer Laurie Altman calls Tara's music "ingenious." In September 2009, Tara began a Master's program in Jazz Piano Performance at Mason Gross School of the Arts, the arts college of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. She is maintaining a 4.0 GPA in her courses and is the recipient of the Pee Wee Russell Jazz Scholarship.

From 2003-2009, Tara taught at Westminster Conservatory in Princeton, NJ. She served as Jazz Studies Department Head within the elite Young Artist Program, as well as Camp Director of Westminster’s summer Jazz Piano Camps. During the school year, her teaching duties included private piano lessons and jazz improvisation classes for middle school students, high school students, and adults. She now maintains a private lesson studio in her home, and sometimes leads intense, specialized jazz trio workshops for advanced students.

In addition to piano performance, Tara has experience in various accompaniment settings. She has accompanied Broadway tap dancer Maurice Chestnut, musical theater at the Hopewell (NJ) Off-Broadstreet Theatre, and ballet classes taught by the American Ballet Theatre’s retired principal ballerina, Susan Jaffe. Tara has also worked with the world-class Manhattan vocalist Margaret Dorn. And, she often performs for church services of various denominations.

Tara’s compositions include jazz instrumentals, original songs, and modern jazz-influenced hymn settings.