2024-2025 Season
Eight Eight Time
April 3 - 5, 2026
Eight Eight Time united four fiercely talented composer-pianists—Kendrah Butler-Waters, Sumi Tonooka, Suzzette Ortiz, and Terry Klinefelter—to premiere a unique suite inspired by real-life stories shared by Philadelphians. Written for eight hands on four grand pianos, with poetry by Yolanda Wisher, Eight Eight Time is both intimate and epic, honoring the profound intricacy of life's pivotal moments.
Eight Eight Time has four grand pianos on the stage, and all audience seating is on the stage with the pianos. During the performance, there will be projected visual elements, lights that go up and down on the pianos, and poetry that is read and projected.
The Making Of…
meet the artists
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meet the artists •
Additional Credits
Funders
KENDRAH BUTLER-WATERS (Lead Artist + Performer)
Dr. Kendrah Butler-Waters is a Philadelphia-based pianist, violinist, vocalist, composer, and educator whose work transcends genre and expectation. A 2025 PEW Fellow, Butler-Waters blends jazz, classical, and gospel influences, she crafts a sound uniquely her own—one rooted in both technical mastery and emotional depth. A multi-instrumentalist 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.
Learn more about Kendrah at her website: https://www.kendrahbw.com
TERRY KLEINFELTER (Composer + Performer)
Described by the Philadelphia Inquirer as “on the cosmic cusp where Mozart might meet Mingus,” Terry Klinefelter is a versatile artist, at home in jazz clubs as well as the classical concert stage. She has performed at the Kimmel Center, the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, the Chadds Ford Winery Jazz Festival, Jazz at the Springs, COTA Festival, Endless Mountain Music Festival, and Exuberance, among many others. She has made several appearances on the Philadelphia Orchestra Chamber Music Series and also performed abroad in Mexico and Italy. Terry recently retired from West Chester University, where she served for 25 years as an Associate Professor of Piano and Jazz Studies. She is a Steinway Artist.
Learn more about Terry at her website: https://terryklinefelter.com
SUMI TOONAKA (Composer + Performer)
Sumi Tonooka has been called a “fierce and fascinating composer and pianist” (Jazz Times), “provocative and compelling” (New York Times), and “continually inventive, original, surprising, and a total delight,” (Cuadranos de Jazz, Madrid). During a career spanning more than 30 years that has taken her from bases in Philadelphia and Boston, to New York and Seattle, Sumi has been developing a body of work that surprises and delights audiences — quietly piling up accolades from jazz writers and fellow musicians. In addition to her symphonic and chamber works, jazz recordings and performances, Sumi has composed over 20 film scores, including the Academy Award-nominated Family Gathering by Lise Yasui and Daring To Resist by Martha Lubell, aired on PBS. She was named a 2023 recipient of a prestigious Pew Fellowship.
Learn more about Sumi at her website: https://sumitonooka.com
SUZZETTE ORTIZ (Composer + Performer)
Suzzette Ortiz is a pianist, composer, choral conductor, and educator whose career spans performance, composition, and over two decades of transformative teaching. Originally from Bayamón, Puerto Rico and now based in Pennsauken, New Jersey, she has dedicated her life to sharing the power of music across communities.
As a performer throughout the tri-state area and internationally, Ortiz has appeared at renowned venues including the Philadelphia Clef Club, the Kimmel Center, the Mann Center, and Joe’s Pub in New York. She has been featured as a soloist at the Kennedy Center with the Washington Chorus and as an accompanist at Carnegie Hall. Her career includes collaborations and shared stages with legendary artists such as Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Néstor Torres, and members of the Buena Vista Social Club.
Learn more about Suzette at her website: https://suzzetteortiz.com
YOLANDA WISHER (Poet)
Yolanda Wisher is a poet, musician, educator, and the author of Monk Eats an Afro (Hanging Loose Press, 2014). Wisher was named inaugural Poet Laureate of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania in 1999 and third Poet Laureate of Philadelphia for 2016 and 2017. A Pew and Cave Canem Fellow, Wisher received the Leeway Foundation's Transformation Award in 2019 for her commitment to art for social change and was honored as a Philadelphia Cultural Treasures Artist Fellow in 2022. Wisher performs a blend of poetry and song with her band Yolanda Wisher & The Afroeaters; their debut album Doublehanded Suite, was released in 2022. Wisher taught high school English for a decade, co-founded the youth-led Germantown Poetry Festival, and served as Director of Art Education for Philadelphia Mural Arts. She is also the founder of the School of Guerrilla Poetics, a training ground for folks interested in nurturing and mobilizing communities through poetry. Along with Trapeta B. Mayson, Wisher leads ConsenSIS (consensisphl.com), an initiative that seeks to count, gather, and memorialize Black femme poets in the Philadelphia area. She works as the Senior Curator at Monument Lab.
Lunise Cerin - Video Design, Gabrielle Patterson - Animation, Nia Benjamin - Video Design, Isabella Gill-Gomez - Technical Director and Lighting Designer, Katy Bagli - Production Stage Manager, Rick Rein - Audio Technician
Eight Eight Time was supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support from the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia, Settlement Music School, Cunningham Piano, Creative Philadelphia, and Mid Atlantic Arts.