It’s a rare treat to hear exceptional recordings of double reed ensembles; no trio could know this better than bassoonist Kristin Wolfe Jensen, oboist Andrew Parker, and pianist Colette Valentine, who’ve accomplished a delightful performance on their new release, MARIE DE GRANDVAL’S GRAND TRIO. A popular composer in her day, de Grandval’s works are given a breath of fresh air, handled delicately in a collaboration with remarkable natural blend.
Today, Kristin is our featured artist in the “Inside Story,” a blog series exploring the inner workings and personalities of our composers and performers. Read on to learn about the joy she feels in musically collaborating with friends, and her hopes for listeners of Grandval’s trio…
If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing?
I would be a personal trainer! I love teaching, helping other people find their motivation and self expression, and I love moving! Bassoon playing and teaching is very similar, which is why I love that too.
If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
I would collaborate with my buddies on this release of the Grandval more often! They are joyful people AND joyful musicians. Chamber music is a social activity, so collaborating with people you love as artists and as human beings is a real privilege.
What emotions do you hope listeners will experience after hearing your work?
I hope the listeners experience an easeful joy and sentimentality upon hearing the Grand Trio. It is lovely.
What were your first musical experiences?
I took piano, voice, and recorder lessons in elementary school — none of which lasted very long, but they set the foundation for starting the bassoon several years later. I also sang in choir and absolutely loved that! Singing is always a great foundation for any musical study — developing the inner ear, and the natural human expression of the voice that we instrumentalists attempt to transfer to our music making.
Bassoonist Kristin Wolfe Jensen has been Professor of Bassoon at The University of Texas at Austin Butler School of Music since 1995 and is also Principal Bassoonist with ROCO, on the faculty at the International Festival Institute at Round Top, and a Licensed Body Mapping Educator. She is the creator of the multimedia bassoon tutorial, MusicandtheBassoon.org, author of The Breathing Book for Bassoon, cofounder of the Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition and Bassoon Symposium, and producer of the video series, The Herzberg/Kamins Reed Making Method.
