Jennifer Weeks
About
Professional Studies Performance Diploma: Cleveland Institute of Music
Bachelor of Music: McGill University
Environmental Conservation, ATA: Skagit Valley College
Jennifer grew up in Montreal, Canada. She received a Bachelor of Music degree from McGill University and a Graduate Diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied under Theodore Baskin of L'Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal and John Mack of the Cleveland Orchestra, respectively. Jennifer’s additional training involved participation in several summer festivals in Canada and the United States, including l’Orchestre des Jeunes du Quebec, Domaine Forget, and the Tanglewood Fellowship Orchestra at the Tanglewood Music Festival in Massachusetts.
Jennifer served as principal oboist with the Kingston Symphony Orchestra in Ontario, Canada, before moving to the west coast. During her tenure in Kingston she was a member of the adjunct music faculty at Queen’s University. Throughout her professional playing career, Jennifer performed with many orchestral and chamber music groups including the Orchestre Symphonique du Quebec, Les Violons du Roi, l’Orchestre Metropolitain de Montreal, the Canadian Opera Company, The National Ballet of Canada, the Canadian National Arts Center Orchestra, the Sarasota Opera Company, the Vancouver Island Symphony, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Seattle Symphony, and the Bellingham Festival of Music.
Inspired by the natural beauty of the area and curious to explore a life that did not involve making oboe reeds, Jennifer took a hiatus from the oboe and returned to school. She completed a degree in Environmental Science at Skagit Valley College and worked for several years in the Natural Resource Department of the Samish Indian Nation. Unable, however, to resist her love of making music and the elusive dream of the perfect reed, she returned to playing and teaching oboe. Jennifer is currently the oboe instructor at Western Washington University, is a member of WWUs faculty wind quintet, Fifth Inversion, and maintains a private studio in Bellingham, WA. In 2013 she created Summerwinds, a summer chamber music camp for young woodwind players which ran for several years through Western Washington University’s Extended Education and Arts Preparatory Academy. Jennifer is currently a Performing Artist, creative energy machine and on the board of the Bellingham Chamber Music Society.
Jennifer is currently an active chamber musician, having discovered her love of this rich and rewarding art form. She loves teaching, is grateful to have found such a wonderful community of musicians to work with, and loves long summer road bike trips with her awesome partner, Molly.