Amanda Taylor

Amanda Taylor is a two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning artist, specializing in creating music for vocal ensembles. Pentatonix founder & producer Ben Bram says, “Amanda’s arrangements are absolutely stunning. She has the magical ability to create works that are so dazzling and complex, yet still satisfyingly singable, tasteful, and accessible to all listeners.” 

A Seattle native, Taylor grew up in elite ensembles like Seattle Girls’ Choir, Vocalpoint! Seattle, and the Seattle Youth Symphony, where her love for harmony and textural writing took root. At 16, she was one of eight vocalists across the U.S. and Canada to be accepted into the GRAMMY® Jazz Choir, alongside budding artists Kate Davis, Jazzmeia Horn, and Michael Mayo. While in this ensemble, she had the opportunity to perform at such events as the Blue Note Records party, the MusiCares Person of the Year tribute, and the GRAMMY® Celebration After Party (which included performances with artists Cassandra Wilson, Terence Blanchard, and Herbie Hancock). 

The same year, she joined internationally acclaimed jazz group Groove for Thought as lead soprano and began writing for contemporary a cappella and vocal jazz. Her first vocal arrangements premiered on NBC’s The Sing-Off in 2010. Following her appearance on the show, she earned her degree in music composition from Central Washington University, and went on to release her first EP, Little Hearts, Big Words, in 2015.

Taylor is a founding member of the GRAMMY®-winning vocal supergroup säje, alongside powerhouse vocalists Sara Gazarek, Johnaye Kendrick, and Erin Bentlage. The group has earned multiple accolades, including a John Lennon Songwriting Award, a Jazz Journalists Association nomination, and two GRAMMY® Awards for their original compositions and collaborations; the group has also received several coveted creative grants in their short existence, including Chamber Music of America’s New Jazz Works Grant, Patreon’s SuperPatron Grant, Jazz Road’s Creative Residencies Grant, and USC’s Visions and Voices Grant. In 2024, Taylor received three new GRAMMY® nominations, both with säje and without; in 2025, she received her second GRAMMY® Award for säje original composition, “Alma”.

An experienced educator and clinician, Amanda has taught at USC, Northwest College, Bellevue College, and A Cappella Academy, and has led countless honor choirs across the U.S. and Canada. She is also a sought-after studio singer, with credits in major video game franchises including World of Warcraft, Destiny, and Diablo III. In 2018, she launched Wicked Pigeon Projects, a boutique vocal arranging company. Outside of her work with säje, Taylor is in high demand as an arranger and composer, creating bold, innovative works for and alongside artists such as Jacob Collier, Nate Smith, Scott Hoying, Chanticleer, The Manhattan Transfer, Kings Return, and others.

Now based in the Boston area, Amanda continues to write, teach, and champion the evolution of contemporary vocal music.