Dave Barduhn
Dave Barduhn (Portland, OR) is a veteran jazz educator, pianist, composer/arranger, conductor, and clinician, especially well known in the worlds of vocal jazz and jazz ensemble education.
For roughly 30 years, Barduhn taught at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon, where he directed both instrumental and vocal jazz. His vocal jazz ensemble Genesis became particularly prominent, earning eight DownBeat magazine awards and appearing at ten national conventions. He retired from full-time teaching in 2012 but has remained active as an arranger, adjudicator, clinician, and guest conductor.
As an arranger, he has a substantial catalog of big band and vocal jazz music. His jazz ensemble arrangements have been published by Hal Leonard, while his vocal jazz arrangements are currently represented by Anchor Music Publications. His arranging credits also include music associated with Stan Kenton, Bud Shank, Bobby Shew, Richie Cole, and The Four Freshmen. AllMusic lists Barduhn under arranging credits on recordings connected to Stan Kenton and numerous college and professional jazz ensembles going back to the 1970s.
He is also an accomplished pianist. Biographical sources credit him with performing with vocalists including Dianne Reeves, Diane Schuur, Mark Murphy, and Ernie Andrews, as well as several Stan Kenton alumni bands.
In recent years, Barduhn has remained very active in jazz education. He has conducted all-state vocal jazz ensembles in states including California, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Washington, and he continues to appear at jazz festivals as a clinician and adjudicator. As of 2026, he directs the Seattle-area adult vocal jazz ensemble BlueStreet Voices, a position he has held since 2021.