The Inside Story: Jennifer Bouton and VIVALDI PICCOLO CONCERTOS

Jennifer Bouton’s VIVALDI PICCOLO CONCERTOS is the first complete recording of the concerti by an American piccoloist. Bouton possesses a mastery over these works, having performed the most famous and beloved C Major concerto (RV 443) numerous times, notably with the Milwaukee Symphony and Nicholas McGegan in 2023.

Today, Jennifer is our featured artist on the “Inside Story,” a blog series exploring the inner workings and personalities of our composers and performers. Read on to learn about the many musical members of her family, and her love for jazz, folk, theatre, and more…

Tell us about your first performance.

My first performance was in 7th grade band, marching in a local parade. I had only started playing the flute a few weeks earlier, though most of the kids had started in 5th grade. I only knew how to play the note Bb, and we were supposed to be playing The Magnificent Seven from memory while we marched! I just walked along playing Bb at random intervals. Knowing what I know now about beginning bands, I was probably not the only one faking it in a major way. But at the time I assumed everyone knew that I was the weakest player. It was motivation to practice and get better!

If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing?

Before I started playing music I wanted to be a writer. I enjoyed creative writing then, but recently have been most fascinated by non-fiction, biography, and poetry. Like music, this discipline requires years (decades!) of honing one’s craft, so I no longer write much outside of my program notes and occasional submissions for Classical music publications. I do wish I had kept it up, but there is plenty more that I want to do with music, so I don’t feel limited in my expressive opportunities at all!

If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?

My family! My dad was my first flute teacher, and is still my favorite person to play duets with. My daughter is a beginner cellist, and I look forward to the day when we can extend this tradition to another generation. I don’t have the opportunity to play with my husband (a jazz bassist) much, but if I ever break out of my box and learn to really improvise, I’d love to play with him. Besides the satisfaction of sharing music with my loved ones, I love collaborating with singers. 

What advice would you give to your younger self if given the chance?

I received a lot of wonderful advice when I was a student, but probably the most valuable message was “set your burners for the long haul.” I took that advice to mean, “be patient with the process and be sure you can endure the years of auditions without injuring yourself.” But emotional endurance is equally important. Many musicians spend a lot of energy becoming proficient, but lose the spark that drew them to music once they have established their careers. Everyone will experience a period of time where things are going really well, and it’s easy to become so identified with your successes that you believe the old saying “you’re only as good as your last performance.” Every up has a down, and being human means being fragile. Being able to accept that the tough times and disappointing performances don’t define you is an incredibly important part of sustaining a love of music.

Take us on a walk through your musical library. What record gets the most plays? Are there any “deep cuts” that you particularly enjoy?

I listen to jazz more than most other genres. Two of my favorite albums are Cannonball Adderley with Nancy Wilson, and Cannonball with Bill Evans. My husband and father are both jazz musicians, and I am so in awe of the intuitive, and highly crafted, nature of jazz improvisation. In preparing my Vivaldi recording, I tried to think about Baroque ornamentation with similar openness. Deciding how to ornament in a Baroque style is very different from the freedom of jazz, but I think being immersed in that repertoire helped me listen differently to Vivaldi’s notes, and hear what might be possible between them. My other great inspiration comes from the singers I’ve worked with, and especially from the recordings of the late great Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. Physically, the flute is the most similar instrument to the voice because the sound comes from inside the body, without interference. The way vocalists begin each note has taught me so much about the concept of pitch, the use of the air, and vibrato. 

What emotions do you hope listeners will experience after hearing your work?

I find Vivaldi’s music surprisingly diverse and colorful, given the limited tonality and structure. I hope that listeners feel both energized and contemplative, and most of all, curious to listen to more repertoire they may not know from throughout music history. 

How have your influences changed as you grow as a musician?

I’ve always found inspiration in musicians from different styles. Bob Dylan, musical theater, pop music… all have contributed something to my concept of what it means to be a performer and musical communicator. I think my influences haven’t changed as much as I’ve become more interested in finding something new in unexpected sources. You might imagine that the choreographer Merce Cunningham has very little in common with Vivaldi, but a performance of his dancers I saw several years ago made me ask myself why we judge music to be good or bad based on such a narrow set of parameters. Similarly, I watched a documentary about jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter recently and was completely blown away by his insatiable curiosity and ability to listen with an open mind. Not all of his music is my favorite, but that’s irrelevant. The continued desire to learn and grow is what inspires me, more than a particular sound or style of making art.

How do you prepare for a performance?

I like to have a lot of time to learn the music, and then a lot more time to get beyond it. Having kids has made me super efficient with my practice time, but I need to shift gears just as quickly. The night of a concert, I sometimes feel like I’m changing my entire persona when I put on my concert clothes.