Kris Adams

Kris Adams is a Professor at Berklee College of Music, affiliated with the Professional Performance Ensemble and Harmony and Jazz Composition department. An accomplished jazz vocalist and educator, she is the author of Sing Your Way Through Theory: A Music Theory Workbook for the Contemporary Singer and has released four critically acclaimed albums on Jazzbird Records.

Her educational background includes:

• Master of Music in Jazz Studies from the New England Conservatory of Music (1993)
• Bachelor of Music from Berklee College of Music (1982)
• Associate of Arts in Art from Manchester Community College (1978)

Adams specializes in jazz vocal performance and contemporary music theory, with expertise in harmonic structures across 20th-21st century popular music. Her teaching integrates Brazilian, jazz, country, R&B, and classical influences through Berklee's unique Schillinger-based harmony program. She advocates for singers to develop keyboard proficiency to internalize note relationships and has created educational resources including recorded scale exercises with vocalized note names.

As a performer, Adams has collaborated with Joe Lovano, Wayne Escoffery, and Lee Musiker, and performed internationally at venues including the Fara Sabina Jazz Festival. She maintains an active performance schedule with upcoming events through 2025, featuring repertoire by influential female jazz artists like Abbey Lincoln and Joni Mitchell.

Adams serves as clinician, adjudicator, and former Artist in residence at Costa Rica's Centro-Cultural Costariccense Norteamericano. She continues developing pedagogical materials focused on major key signatures for vocalists while leading her professional ensemble.