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Jennie Brown
Flutist | Collaborator | Entrepreneur | Mentor
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras
Jennie currently serves as the Executive Director of Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras (CYSO), as of May 2023. Based in the heart of Chicago, CYSO was founded in 1946 and now includes approximately 800 young musicians in 9 orchestras, a jazz orchestra, 4 steelpan ensembles, chamber ensembles, and composition workshops. Additionally, the CYSO commissioning project creates great new works for orchestra, jazz, and steelpan for all ages and levels by diverse composers. With a partnership with renowned Cedille Records, CYSO’s latest recording will feature alumna Mary Bowden and new works by Clarice Assad, Jim Stephenson, Sarah Kirkland Snyder, Tyson Davis, and Reena Esmail. CYSO@CPS (Chicago Public Schools) and the Ambassadors outreach program reached 10,000 audience members in 2022-23 and continues to support music programs in public schools. #Listen to the Future!
Recording Artist
As an Innova Recording Artist, her commercially released albums have been met with critical acclaim. Her recent solo album Giantess features the music of Carter Pann, Shulamit Ran, Augusta Read Thomas, Valerie Coleman. Shortly after its release, it was featured in Howard Reich’s Best Classical Albums of 2019, Chicago Tribune December 8, 2019.
Her latest project released in 2020, her trio album titled Vox with the Heare Ensemble featured Vox Balaenae by George Crumb and works by Stacy Garrop, Narong Prangcharoen, and Carter Pann. Crumb described her opening solo of Vox Balaenae as “perfect.” in a conversation she will forever cherish.
She released her debut solo album in 2015, “Looking Back: Flute Music of Joseph Schwantner,” to critical praise, including an Honorable Mention in New York Classical Review Critic George Grella’s “Best Classical Albums of 2015” list. She has also been featured numerous times on WFMT broadcasts, including a performance of Schwantner’s Looking Back as well as an interview with Narimon Safavi for WBEZ’s Worldview regarding her Midwest premiere of Valerie Coleman’s powerful Hair, Cloth, Thread for flute and percussion.
A renowned flutist, Jennie Brown is an energizing and creative force in the field of music. Brown is an active performer throughout Chicago in solo, chamber, contemporary, and orchestral settings.
“The irrepressibly creative flutist and new music advocate celebrates the release of her new album…” Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune, November 8, 2019 (Giantess Innova 043)
“The tone Brown draws from her flute is meltingly beautiful—rounded, seamless through all registers, robust. ” Wynne Delacoma, Chicago Classical Review, November 2019 (Live concert, Constellation Chicago)
Best Classical Albums of 2019, Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune, December 6, 2019 (Giantess Innova 043)
“The performances are flawless, and the recording quality excellent; Vox Balaenae is a timeless masterpiece.” Max Christie, TheWholeNote.com, May 5, 2020 (Vox Innova 040)
“As evidenced by this album, Jennie Oh Brown really understands Schwantner’s compositional intent, and her playing reflects the beauty, intensity, rawness, and virtuosity his music requires. She excels in changing characters rapidly, and her beautiful, expressive sound is perfectly suited to Schwantner’s emotional, lyrical, and acrobatic music.” Jennifer Slaughter, National Flute Association Flutist Quarterly, Fall 2016 (Looking Back Innova 919)
Epiphany Center for the Arts
Jennie joined the team at Epiphany Center for the Arts as Artist in Residence and Artistic Director in February 2022. As Artistic Director, she curated and programmed concerts for the Immersive Chamber Music Sanctuary series and large-scale events in Epiphany Hall from 2022-23. She is currently Artist-in-Residence, performing as solo artist and with ensemble-in-residence, Picosa.
Ear Taxi Festival 2021
Jennie served as Executive and Artistic Director of Ear Taxi Festival together with Curatorial Director Michael Lewanski, Managing Director Jessica Wolfe, Director of Community Engagement LaRob K. Rafael, Production Manager Justin Peters, Production Assistant Beth Koehler, and Operations Assistant Phoebe Wu.
Approximately 600 artists were featured in 100 events throughout the city of Chicago from July – November 2021. Ear Taxi Festival celebrated Chicago music in the 21st century with concerts, panel discussions, professional development workshops and major commissions. A highlight of the festival, George Lewis’ vision and music were featured by the keynote speaker.
Support came from Helen Zell and grants from the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Irving Harris Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and New Music USA, made possible by annual program support and/or endowment gifts from Helen F. Whitaker Fund and The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc.,
Additionally, Jennie launched the New Music Chicago Presents series at the Chicago Cultural Center in 2019, energizing momentum towards Ear Taxi Festival, an ongoing monthly noon-time concert series at the Chicago Cultural Center which features music written since 2000 by living composers, as the first and ongoing recipient of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events ArtSpace Grant. The series was given a major feature article by Howard Reich of the Chicago Tribune in February 2019 as well as an interview with Cindy Bravo on Comcast Community Network.
Picosa
Jennie serves as Executive and Artistic Director of the chamber ensemble Picosa, with ongoing concert series in Allen Recital Hall at DePaul University’s Holtschneider Performance Center, at the Driehaus Museum, and at The Epiphany Center for the Arts. The ensemble also holds residencies at Elmhurst University and North Central Colleges.
Founded in 2014, the ensemble performs regularly throughout Chicago including concert series Live from WFMT, Frequency Series at Constellation Chicago, and The International Music Foundation’s Rush Hour Concert Series at St James Cathedral. For Ear Taxi Festival 2016 (the inaugural city-wide festival showcasing Chicago’s world-class new music), Brown performed as both a soloist and as a member of Picosa.
Teaching
Brown considers teaching to be central to her career and feels truly privileged to mentor the next generation of musicians, whether music lovers or professionals. She has served on the faculty of Wheaton College from 2002 – 2023, and taught at Elmhurst University from 2012 – 2022. As a faculty member at Interharmony International Music Festival, Italy (2019), she gave the European premiere of Carter Pann’s Giantess with pianist Geoffrey Burleson. Her private studio includes two distinct tracks for younger students and her Art and Resonance professional career coaching.
Credo Flute
Jennie is founder, director and faculty member of Credo Flute where she has taught with Bonita Boyd (Eastman School of Music), Walfrid Kujala (Emeritus, Northwestern University and Chicago Symphony Orchestra), Elizabeth Ostling (Boston Symphony Orchestra), Marie Tachouet (Lyric Opera Orchestra), Kelly Zimba (Toronto Symphony Orchestra), Luke Fitzpatrick (Fort Wayne Symphony Orchestra), Gary Woodward (LA Opera) and more. Founded in 2014, the seminar adapted to a virtual format in 2020, reaching flutists across the globe, and continues to meet in person at Christ Church of Oak Brook.
Service
Brown proudly serves on the Executive Board of Chamber Music America as Treasurer. She has published articles in the National Flute Association’s Flutist Quarterly, Flute Talk Magazines. She was the featured artist for the Chicago Flute Club in 2023 with a feature article in Pipeline Magazine by editor Julie Marcotte.
She is currently a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee and the Historical Flutes Committee of the National Flute Association. She previously served as coordinator of the National Flute Association’s Convention Performers Competition which features winning compositions of the Newly Published Music Competition. She has performed in nine National Flute Association conventions in Anaheim, Las Vegas, twice in Chicago, Washington D.C., Minneapolis, Orlando, Salt Lake City, and twice virtually. She was especially thrilled to give the premiere of the Young Artists Competition commissioned solo piece Sungji Hong’s Vidimus Stellam in 2021.
Background
Dr. Brown remains indebted to her teachers Walfrid Kujala and Bonita Boyd and is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music (DMA, MM, Performers Certificate), Northwestern University (BM) and the Interlochen Arts Academy (HS). She has also performed in music festivals including the Aspen Music Festival, the Music Academy of the West, and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival – Yale Summer School of Music.
She performs on a Brannen 10k flute and a 18k/platinum Mancke headjoint, a Keefe grenadilla piccolo with a Mancke Mopane/14k piccolo headjoint, a C. Palanca/Wenner Grenadilla Traverso, and Yamaha brass alto and bass flutes.
Website
JennieBrownFlute.com
Recordings
Innova 043: Giantess (solo, 2019)
Innova 040: Vox (Heare Ensemble – trio, 2020)
Innova 919: Looking Back: Music of Joseph Schwantner (solo, 2016)
Parma Recordings: Crimson and Lace (chorus and ensemble, 2015)
Publishing Samples
FLUTE TALK MAGAZINE
Ask the Pro: Coping with Nerves, May 2018
Composing for Flute: Thoughts from Jennifer Higdon, Katherine Hoover, Carter Pann, December 2017.
An Interview with Shulamit Ran, January 2015.
NATIONAL FLUTE ASSOCIATION, THE FLUTIST QUARTERLY
Collaborative Play: Flutist-Composer Commissions, June 2015.
CHICAGO FLUTE CLUB, PIPELINE MAGAZINE
New Horizon’s for Jennie Oh Brown (Pipeline Editor Julie Marcotte interviewer), May 2023
Chicago’s Giantess of Flute (Board Member Gianna Capobianco interviewer), Summer 2020
Life Balance (Pipeline Editor Julie Marcotte interviewer), April 2018
Behind the Scenes – Creating the album Music of Joseph Schwantner, March 2016.
An Interview with Joseph Schwantner: The Composer at Work, March 2016
The NFA Comes to Chicago, June 2014
Chicago Flute Club Commissions: Celebrating the Chicago Flute Club’s 25 Years, June 2014
Land Acknowledgement for Chicago
Chicago is the traditional homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: The Odawa, Ojibwe and Potawatomi Nations. Many other Tribes like the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox also called this area home. Located at the intersection of several great waterways, the land naturally became a site of travel and healing for many Tribes. American Indians continue to call this area home and now Chicago is home to the sixth largest Urban American Indian community that still practices their heritage, traditions and care for the land and waterways. Today, Chicago continues to be a place that calls many people from diverse backgrounds to live and gather here. Despite the many changes the city has experienced, both our American Indian and Chicago community see the importance of the land and this place that has always been a city home to many diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
American Indian Center, Chicago