Amy Ward Choate

Amy Ward Choate earned her Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies at Brigham Young University, where she studied piano with Stephan Lindeman and jazz pedagogy and performance with Ray Smith. While at BYU, she was the pianist for the West Side Jazz Quartet, which was named First Place Collegiate Combo at the International Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. She also toured Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, France, and Italy as pianist for BYU's top big band Synthesis, performing for the World Exposition and the Umbria and Montreux Jazz Festivals. Amy presented BYU's first Jazz Studies Major Recital and established the format used as the current model for all jazz major recitals. In 2003, Amy was invited to perform Gunther Schuller's Concertino for Jazz Quartet and Orchestra with the Weber State University Orchestra (Ogden, Utah). Amy has been featured as the guest artist for the Heber Valley Music Teachers 2005 Benefit Concert. She has also received recognition for her arranging and teaching. In 2001, Amy was awarded first place by the Music Teachers National Association Southwest Division Collegiate Composition Competition for her jazz composition Alfred and Roy. Two of Amy's students were selected to perform jazz numbers at the 2003 Utah Music Teachers Association State Conference. Amy was also invited to present seminars on ways to incorporate jazz elements into classical studios for several chapters of the Utah Music Teachers Association from 2004 to 2006. Amy currently teaches private and group piano in Logan, Utah. She is also an actively gigging and recording musician in Salt Lake City and Logan.

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