about jennifer
Dr. Jennifer Jo is an award-winning flutist and educator based in Los Angeles. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from UCLA. She serves as the Flute Lecturer at Cal Poly SLO and Cuesta College.​​
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An active orchestral and chamber musician, she currently serves as the Principal Flutist of the Civic Orchestra of Los Angeles under the direction of Anthony Parnther. She has also performed with many prestigious ensembles, including the LA Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel, the Pacific Symphony, the Modesto Symphony, Festival Napa Valley, the New York Flutists, American Youth Symphony, and the Talis Festival. Her performances have taken her to major concert halls across the United States and abroad in Switzerland, France, Norway, and Canada. In addition, she records for film and TV shows in studios and remotely.
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Jennifer has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Orchestra Santa Monica, the Southern California Philharmonic, and the Carnegie Mellon University Wind Ensemble. She is a member of The Coalesce Duo, which she founded with fellow UCLA alum and harpist, Ginger Rose Brucker.
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Jennifer has won First Prizes in many prestigious competitions, including the San Francisco Flute Society Competition, South Carolina Flute Society Competition, Southern California Philharmonic Concerto Competition, Carnegie Mellon University School of Music Concerto Competition, and the Sacramento Flute Club Competition.
​She has also won Second Prizes in the National Flute Association Piccolo Competition and the Berkeley Piano Club Winds and Brass Competition, as well as top prizes in the Yamaha Young Performing Artists Comp, Florida Flute Association Young Artist Comp, New Jersey Flute Society Young Artist Comp, National YoungArts Comp, and the Redlands Bowl Concerto Comp.
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​​​Jennifer earned both her Doctorate of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in Flute Performance from UCLA, where she served as a Teaching Assistant for the Woodwind Chamber Music and Art of Listening courses. During her studies, she served as a UCLA Gluck Fellow, performing chamber music outreach concerts throughout Los Angeles, and as a UCLA Music Partnership Program Fellow, teaching flute lessons at the Boys and Girls Club of Hollywood. Additionally, she served as the administrative manager of this program, helping establish tuition-free music programs at schools throughout Los Angeles.
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Her doctoral dissertation, which explores the intersection of traditional East Asian flutes and their influence on contemporary flute repertoire, won the 2025 National Flute Association Research Competition and has been presented at global conferences, including the NFA Convention in Atlanta, the Global Conference on Intersections of Western and Asian Music at UCLA , and the Ewha Women's University Conference at UCLA. You can read the full dissertation here: https://core.ac.uk/reader/612398330
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Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Flute Performance with a minor in Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University, where she graduated with both University and College Honors and was the recipient of the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honors Award upon graduation. She was also a merit-based Carnegie Scholarship and Dingwall Foundation Scholarship recipient for four years during her undergraduate studies.​ Jennifer's teachers and mentors include Benjamin Smolen, Sarah Jackson, Alberto Almarza, Denis Bouriakov, Maria Tamburrino, and Jeanne Baxtresser.
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Jennifer serves on the faculty at Cal Poly SLO, Cuesta College, the California Summer School for the Arts at CalArts, and maintains an active private studio in Los Angeles. Her students have won major international and national competitions and hold spots in the Los Angeles, Pasadena, and Santa Monica Youth Orchestras. They have held Principal Flute positions in the All-State and All-Southern California Wind Symphony and Orchestra, and successfully gained admissions into top college music programs. Jennifer is a MTAC Certificate of Merit teacher, with students successfully reaching all levels, including the competitive Panel Finals with State Honors.
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Jennifer is also an accomplished pianist and has been playing since she was seven years old. She passed the Certificate of Merit Advanced Level with State Convention Honors on piano and won prizes in the US Open Music Competition. As a pianist, she accompanies her students, choirs, and musicals.
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She is a Young Artist for her esteemed flute maker, Haynes Flutes, playing on a custom 14k-gold Haynes flute.
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