Biography

Jared Tinkham is a guitarist, composer, arranger, and educator from Rochester, New York. Prior to joining The U.S. Army Strings, he maintained an active performance career in Western New York as both a bandleader and sideman, performing regularly throughout the region. He has appeared with numerous jazz artists including Bobby Militello, George Caldwell, Mark Filsinger and others, and performed at festivals including the Rochester International Jazz Festival, the Northwest Jazz Festival, and the Queen City Jazz Festival. In 2023, he was featured on John Bacon’s “Revolution Blues” album, which included two of his original compositions.
An active educator, Tinkham served on the faculty of the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts for 10 years, where he taught guitar ensembles and jazz studies and later served as Music Department Chair. He received the Instrumental Music Educator of the Year Award from SUNY Buffalo State University in 2023 and the Excellence in Education Awards in 2025 from Friends for a Better Buffalo, as well as Best Jazz Guitarist in 2015 and 2022 from Jazz Buffalo.
Tinkham earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music Education from SUNY Buffalo State University, graduating summa cum laude in 2015 and 2017, respectively. He has studied with Bob Sneider, Max Light, Steve Greene, Craig Snyder, and Mark Filsinger, and remains active as a performer, composer, and arranger.