Jennifer Carpenter

Cellist Jennifer Carpenter is an active educator and performer in Rochester, NY, where she is currently on faculty at Eastman Community Music School and The Hochstein School, and coordinates chamber music ensembles at University of Rochester. Carpenter is also a tenured member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.

After growing up as a Suzuki Method student herself, Carpenter received training to be a Suzuki Method teacher at The School for Strings in New York during her studies at The Juilliard School. Over the years, she has taught cello students of various ages and levels. She has served as a Lecturer in Music at Nazareth College, and a cellist mentor and coach to students in the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Kneisel Hall Program for Maine Students, and Wyoming Seminary Performing Arts Institute.

Carpenter is also an experienced performer in a diverse range of musical styles and ensembles. Her past orchestral experiences include performances in the Juilliard Orchestra, where she served as principal cellist, Aspen Music Festival and School, where she served as a fellow in the conducting academy orchestra, and Cayuga Chamber Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Carpenter has performed on the WXXI Live From Hochstein radio broadcast concert series, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s Living Room Series, and Brockport’s Winter Serenades. She has also performed chamber music at festivals such as The Perlman Music Program, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival fellowship program, Orford Musique, and the Castleman Quartet Program. Additionally, she has given numerous chamber music and solo performances at The Juilliard School and Oberlin Conservatory, where she earned Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees, respectively. Her past teachers include Natasha Brofsky, Laurence Lesser, Phoebe Carrai, Darrett Adkins, Catharina Meints, Eric Kim, and Ellen Shertzer.

In addition to modern performance, Carpenter is an enthusiast of historical performance, and during her studies at The Juilliard School and Oberlin Conservatory she studied baroque cello and viola da gamba. Also an advocate of new music, she collaborates frequently with living composers, performs premieres, and has appeared with New Juilliard Ensemble, OSSIA New Music, and Oberlin Conservatory’s Contemporary Music Ensemble.

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