Tara Bhrushundi

Tara Bhrushundi is a jazz pianist, composer, and instructor in the New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania area. She was one of eight young female jazz pianists from around the world chosen for the Kennedy Center’s 2011 Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Emerging Artist Workshop in Washington, DC. Toshiko Akiyoshi calls Bhrushundi’s playing “fantastic,” while Princeton Symphony Orchestra Conductor (1986-2007) Mark Laycock says, “She is a brilliant pianist and composer.” Tara was also the 2012 Grand Prize Winner of the New Jersey Arts Collective’s music composition contest. She holds a Master of Music in Jazz Piano Performance from Rutgers University, where her mentors were Stanley Cowell and Conrad Herwig.

Tara’s compositions include jazz instrumentals, original songs, and modern jazz-influenced hymn settings. For Watchfire, she contributes music to bring joy and new creative expression to church.

Tara maintains a private lesson studio in her home and teaches jazz piano lessons at The Pennington School in Pennington, NJ. In the community, she plays every Sunday for her local Christian Science church, and serves on the Greater Princeton Steinway Society board of directors.