Teaching Artist Statement

Creating a music community and educating young people to express themselves through music participation and performance has been my life’s work. I specialize in both individual and group string instruction using a combination of Suzuki and traditional teaching techniques. I am committed to making music a collaborative experience and creating an environment for each individual student to evolve through music making. I am very excited to be part of the Suzuki Academy of Music Center of the Northwest teaching violin to all ages and abilities.

Teaching Bio

Jennifer began her music studies at the age of 4 in Northfield, IL and grew up performing with Northfield Suzuki String academy which performed throughout the Chicagoland area. She received her Bachelor of Arts degrees in violin performance and Music Education from Western Illinois University in Macomb, IL and her Master of Arts degree from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. Her teachers have included Lydia Monahan, Susan Rozendaal, Gabriel Pegis and Joseph Genualdi. She is also a registered Suzuki teacher and received her training from Nancy Jackson and Linda Fiore. As a string and early childhood music educator, Jennifer taught violin, cello, and Kindermusik at the Bermuda School of Music from 2005-December 2018. Her violin studio was a mix of students age 3 years old to adult and taught weekly group and private classes for all levels and also coached Senior ensembles and orchestra. Her Senior Ensemble was the Bermuda Festival competition winner in 2017. Throughout her tenure in Bermuda, she assisted in creating a Bermuda String Tour Group which performed both on the island and abroad to Ann Arbor, Charlotte, Boston, Orlando, at Disney World, and Chicago. Jennifer co-directed many string workshops in her time in Bermuda with teachers that included Almita and Roland Vamos, Mark Wood, Sally O’Reilly, Linda and Dominic Fiore, Vera McCoy Sulentic, Nancy Jackson, Amy Barston, and Geri Arnold. She was also a participant in the International Suzuki Conference in Matsumoto, Japan.

Performance Bio

In addition to her teaching, she enjoys performing for faculty concerts as a soloist or ensemble participant. She has performed as concertmaster and section leader in the Bermuda Music Festival, Bermuda Philharmonic Orchestra, the annual ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ series, ‘Joy to the World’ orchestra, Bermuda Sinfonia and Bermuda Festival Orchestra. She has played in Gilbert and Sullivan productions and special performances in conjunction with Bermuda Festival with Smokey Robinson, Quincy Jones, Kenny Rogers, John Ingram, John Legend, Patti Austin, and Michael McDonald. Jennifer relocated with her family from Bermuda to the Pacific Northwest in January 2019, and is currently performs with Philharmonia Northwest in Seattle.