(Violin, Viola, Cello, Piano)

Jen is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and the Chicago School of Violin Making. She has been playing music since 1990 and in lessons plays the violin and viola she handmade. In 2000 she taught her first student and has been teaching violin, viola, cello and piano ever since. Jen shares, “A seed takes years to become a tree. I love that after 30 years of playing music I still come across challenges and have to remind myself that everything takes time, challenges will always exist, and to be patient and give myself space to grow.” When she isn’t repairing and restoring instruments or at CHMA you can find her playing Nintendo Switch with her friends.

Musician I would most like to eat dinner with: Tough question. Just kidding. Bach. Why didn’t Mozart like chickens? All they ever said was “Bach, Bach, Bach.”

Elevator Song: Bill Evans, the solo sessions volume 1. It’s beautiful. Anything off of that. Or any other Bill Evans’ solo stuff. There’s so much happening theory wise, and it’s something I could also fall asleep to. Being stuck in an elevator forever would be rough. Although sometimes I love my 80s thrash metal, that would be way too much for being stuck in an elevator.

Music is…What isn’t music? Anything that moves creates a rhythm or a pitch. Go outside with no distraction and listen. Compare the city to the woods. Two very different “songs.”