Kendrah Butler Waters at McMichael Park (Jazz Bridge)

Dr. Kendrah Butler-Waters is a Philadelphiabased pianist, violinist, vocalist, composer, and educator whose work transcends genre and expectation. A 2025 PEW Fellow, ButlerWaters blends jazz, classical, and gospel influences, she crafts a sound uniquely her own—one rooted in both technical mastery and emotional depth. A multiinstrumentalist with an academic foundation in political science and sociology from Temple University, a master’s degree in elementary education from Drexel University, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Administration from Immaculata University, Butler-Waters brings a rare combination of intellectual rigor and artistic brilliance to every performance. As a 2015–2016 Jazz Resident at the Kimmel Center, she captivated audiences and has since performed at Cape May and Lancaster Avenue Jazz festivals and collaborated with poet laureates Yolanda Wisher and Trapeta Mayson for ConsenSIS focused on Black female and femme poets and notable Philadelphia based artists. Her compositions have been featured across NPR, PBS, WHYY, WRTI…