About

Kat Sherman is a jazz vocalist, composer, arranger, and teaching artist based in Chicago, IL.

As a vocalist, Kat performs regularly in duo settings, with small combos, and with big bands. She has released recordings with jazz bassist Hannah Marks (Alone Together) and math rock band Giraffe House (Folding Chair Fathers, Leafy Greens, Toxic, Passenger). She is currently composing and arranging music for her debut album as a bandleader. Kat also works regularly as a studio vocalist, recording choral demos and virtual jazz ensemble projects in her home studio. She has won awards as a soloist, including the award for Best Graduate Jazz Voice Soloist from Downbeat magazine.

With significant experience directing vocal jazz ensembles and contemporary vocal groups, Kat also regularly works as an arranger, creating custom arrangements for middle, high school, and collegiate groups across the country. In particular, she writes often for SSAA, SAB, and SATB choirs, and groups under her direction/performing her work have been awarded Downbeat Student Music Awards and performed on significant stages, like at the Jazz Education Network conference. Her ever-growing stock arrangement catalog can be found on her website (katsherman.com) and she is also available to create commissioned works.

As an educator, Kat is in demand as an ensemble director, voice teacher, and clinician. She is passionate about building an inclusive learning environment, where she helps all students build a diverse set of skills to prepare them for a wide variety of future career opportunities. Kat currently teaches in the Jazz Studies department at DePaul University, giving private jazz voice lessons, directing the Downbeat-award winning DePaul Vocal Jazz Ensemble and a small jazz combo, and teaching several Group Jazz Piano and Jazz Ear Training courses. In 2025, she was awarded the Monsignor Kenneth J. Velo Distinguished Professorship, an honor for which she was nominated by her colleagues. Previously, she worked as a small ensemble coach at Indiana University and with Bloomington Expressive Arts Training (BEAT) as a staff arranger, vocal director, and member of the BEAT band.

Kat holds a MM in Jazz Studies from the University of North Texas and a BM in Jazz Studies from Indiana University.