Ashlee Varner is a pianist, vocalist, educator, arranger, and composer from Pennsylvania.  She began her musical career studying classical piano and playing church music.  After finishing an undergraduate degree with an emphasis in classical piano, she turned her focus to jazz and R&B studies.  Her music demonstrates a combination of these genres, as well as gospel and hip-hop influences. 

 

Throughout her career, Varner has worked steadily as a musician and educator.  She toured with, directed, accompanied, and appeared as a vocalist with a number of gospel vocal groups throughout the United States, Italy, Greece, and Turkey.  In 2008, she performed as part of a jazz duo in Guangzhou, China, which was the featured performance for the Greentree Financial Corporation’s International Diamond Ball.  In addition to her performances, Varner also taught piano at Lee University and Knox Music Studios, and co-directed a 300-member vocal program at Ocoee Middle School in Cleveland, TN.

 

While studying at the University of Tennessee, she found mentors like Donald Brown and Jerry Coker, who introduced her to greats, such as Hampton Hawes, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Wynton Kelly, and many others.  During her time in Knoxville, she performed regularly with her own group, which included Daniel Brown (bass), Kenneth Brown (dr), and Will Boyd (sax).  Varner occasionally appeared with renowned pianist Donald Brown’s R&B band, After Dance, with Sanda Alyson (voc), Marcel Holman (sax), Kenneth Brown (dr), and Donald Brown (bass).

 

Along with performing, Varner continues to pursue her love of learning and teaching, through her own research projects and development of pedagogical methods and materials.  She holds an undergraduate degree from Lee University in Music Business and Music Education with an emphasis in classical piano and a Masters of Music degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville with an emphasis in jazz piano studies.  Currently, she is pursuing a doctoral degree in jazz studies with a secondary emphasis in vocal pedagogy from the University of Northern Colorado.   During her time at UNCO, Varner directed vocal jazz ensembles, taught jazz class piano, as well as private jazz piano students.   She performed with the Vanguard Combo, and Lab I, the premier jazz ensembles of the University.  While performing with Lab Band I, the ensemble won Downbeat magazine’s award for “Best Graduate College Large Ensemble.” In 2012, she sang background vocals for the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and from 2011-2014, she performed and recorded with the top vocal jazz group at the university, Northern Colorado Voices, currently directed by Kerry Marsh.  During her vocal studies, she also had the opportunity to study with Dr. Melissa Malde, author of What Every Singer Needs To Know About The Body, and Julia Dollison, renowned jazz vocalist and educator.  In 2014, she won a Downbeat award for “Best Graduate College Vocal Jazz Soloist.” 

 

She continues to perform with her own groups, People Music, the Condors, and So What.  Varner currently teaches jazz voice at Metropolitan State University, jazz and classical piano at Colorado Christian University, and Music Business, Jazz History, Songwriting, and Music Theory at Front Range Community College.  She directs the Jazz Arts Voices, a vocal jazz ensemble which is part of Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts, and serves as music director, keyboardist, and vocal consultant for two Denver area churches.