Jennifer’s choral accompanying career began at age 11 when she was asked to accompany her school chorus in the county-wide choral festival. She went on to graduate with honors in piano accompanying and music theatre from Northside School of the Arts in Atlanta, GA, while studying privately with Marilyn Walthall. She received her degree in piano performance and accompanying from the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, where she studied with Roland Carter and David Walters, tutored music theory students, and then served as faculty accompanist from 1993-2000. From 1996-2000, she also accompanied and co-directed Chattanooga Sings, a choral outreach program and intergenerational community chorus.
She completed her Master’s degree in music therapy at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, and worked with children with special and palliative care needs in the greater Boston area for five years. During that time she served as founding accompanist to Voices Rising women’s chorus from 2004-2010. She relocated to the Pacific Northwest in 2010 and currently serves the Seattle hospice community as a national board-certified music therapist. In addition, she maintains an active schedule as rehearsal and performance accompanist and music director in Seattle area schools, churches, and music theatre, and is the regular organist/pianist/accompanist at First Christian Church in Tacoma.
Jennifer was with Seattle Girls’ Choir through spring 2013.