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Jennifer Walters gave us the scoop on her involvement with the ESO and how she got started...

1. How long have you played with ESO?

I have been playing the B-flat clarinet with ESO for twenty-seven years. 

2. What instrument do you play and how did you gravitate to that instrument?

I started on piano at age six and just remember picking “the black thing” in fifth grade.  Honestly, I really don’t know why I picked it and didn’t know what it sounded like.  

In high school I began studying with a good teacher and listening to recordings by Robert Marcellus, clarinet professor at Northwestern University (NU).  This led me to study clarinet performance and music education at NU where I met my husband while playing in the marching band.  

3. What piece is on your bucket list to play with ESO and why?

We have performed many of my favorite pieces, but I think “Overture to Colas Breugnon” by Kabalevsky, Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 or a Gustav Holst Suite (orchestral version) would be wonderful.  

Biography

After teaching band for four years, I retired to begin my vocation as mother.  We’ve been blessed with six children who all enjoy music. I have also maintained a private clarinet studio for over twenty-five years.  I have loved all of my time at ESO playing with talented musicians and friends and have loved bringing the treasures of the orchestral repertoire to our audience.  My time is now filled with homeschooling our two youngest, practicing, homemaking, reading, praying, gardening, swimming, and healthy living.