From: Kenosha, Wisconsin

I started teaching music in… 1994

I started teaching at the Conservatory in… 2007 (Queens), 2014 (Brooklyn)

My inspiration: Stephane Grappelli, Miles Davis, Trent Reznor

Few people know that I… worked at an amusement park

Education: University of Wisconsin Madison, BM
New York University, MA

I play and teach: Violin, Viola

My other artistic/musical endeavors: Many freelance orchestras, orchestra pits, and jazz with Paul Knopf.

Personal Teaching Statement: Everyone has the ability to learn joyfully!

Biography: Violinist Jennifer Axelson is equally at home in both classical and jazz idioms. After moving to New York City, Jennifer continued to play “classical” music and became an improvisor. Her orchestra pit experience includes playing at Westport Country Playhouse, DiCapo Opera, Lucille Lortel Theater, and the Actors Shakespeare Company along with many other musicals and operas in New York and New Jersey. Jennifer has played at Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space, David Geffen Hall, Webster Hall, Zinc, Shapeshifter Lab, and many other locations throughout New York City. She has played regularly with the Astoria Symphony, Richmond County Orchestra, and the Firey String Sistas, just to name a few. Chamber music experience includes playing violin in a string quartet on The Holland America Cruise Line. Jennifer has also played improvised music for The Scarab Tale, an off Broadway show. While living in Madison, Wisconsin she played in the Madison Symphony Orchestra under John DeMain and the Dubuque Symphony under Nicholas Palmer.

Jennifer holds a bachelor of music degree from the University of Wisconsin Madison and a master’s degree in jazz from NYU. She teaches regularly and has taught string classes in the NYC public schools for various organizations.