Brightmusic Society of Oklahoma presents:
 

Special Guest Artist

CHRISTINA JENNINGS

Flutist Christina Jennings is praised for virtuoso technique, rich tone, and command of a wide range of literature featuring works from Bach to Zwilich. The Houston Press declared: “Jennings has got what it takes: a distinctive voice, charisma, and a pyrotechnic style that works magic on the ears.” The first flutist in fifteen years to win the Concert Artists Guild International Competition, other honors include First Prize at the Houston Symphony Ima Hogg Competition and the William C. Byrd Competition. In 2007 Musical America listed her as “an artist to watch.”   Highlights of the 2007-2008 season include performances with the Takács String Quartet, a performance of the Christopher Rouse Flute Concerto with the Spokane Symphony, a collaboration with Jethro Tull, and Philadelphia performances of Pierre Boulez’s Le marteau sans maître .

Active as a concerto soloist, Ms Jennings has appeared with the Utah and Houston Symphonies, Orchestra 2001, Park Avenue Chamber Orchestra, Flint Symphony, Orchestra de Camera (Mexico), and Pro Musica (UK). Recent chamber music festivals include Strings in the Mountains (CO), Cascade Head (OR), OK Mozart (OK), Chamber Music Quad Cities (IA), and the Bowdoin International Festival (ME).

As broad-gauged in her musical pursuits as she is in her repertoire choices, Ms. Jennings is Principal Flute with the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra (Houston), collaborates with pianist Lura Johnson, and enjoys mixing disciplines through projects with David Parsons Dance Companies and members of Pilobolus. In addition, she is the co-founder of Oklahoma City’s Brightmusic Chamber Music Ensemble. Chamber music partners have included So Percussion, the Brentano and Avalon Quartets, soprano Lucy Shelton, and cellist Colin Carr.

Christina Jennings can be heard in works by Alec Wilder alongside jazz great Marian McPartland in a shared CD for Albany Records. Also on Albany Records is a disc featuring Ms. Jennings as soloist in Shulamit Ran’s flute concerto Voices with the Bowling Green Philharmonia. Of the recently released Jennings-Johnson Duo CD, the American Record Guild declared: “Jennings is an extraordinary musician, with facile technique, a soaring tone, and a natural sense of phrasing that is often absent from flute playing.”

In great demand as a teacher, Ms. Jennings is Assistant Professor of Flute at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and on the summer faculty of the Texas Music Festival. Trained in the Dalcroze Eurhythmics method, Christina’s teaching incorporated movement and dance. In recent seasons she has presented master classes at The Juilliard School, Rice University, University of Wisconsin Madison, the Peabody Institute, the Longy School of Music, and the flute associations of Seattle, Utah, and Texas. She received her Bachelor and Master’s degrees at The Juilliard School, and her principal teachers include Carol Wincenc, Leone Buyse, George Pope, and Jeanne Baxtresser.