Spirited and sensitive, Jennifer King is a versatile pianist who enjoys exploring the world of classical music in the 21st century through the presentation of new music and the revisiting of past musical gems. She has established herself as a sought-after talent on concert stages across Atlantic Canada in both the role of soloist and collaborative artist. Her remarkable career spans three decades and the impact of her artistry has inspired the dedication of piano works and a growing number of commissions from Canadian composers. King’s countless contributions to musical life in the province have been celebrated with an Award of Appreciation from the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia.
These past several years have seen King truly blossom as a recording artist. Frequently heard on CBC Ici Music and CBC Radio 2, her growing catalogue of works began with the 2018 release of O Mistress Moon, a collection of two centuries of Nocturnes and night inspired music. Consecutive releases include a live recording in 2019 (Doolittle: Minute Études “Excerpts”) and a collection of twelve short piano works inspired by fairy tales in 2020 (Twilight Hour: Collected Stories for Piano). In 2022, Jennifer released O Mistress Moon: Canadian Edition. Distributed by Leaf Music in Halifax, this set of twelve contemporary piano works embodies the moon, outer space, and the night. The album has received praise for its “dramatic out of this world sonic listening” (The WholeNote); it won Classical Album of the Year at the East Coast Music Awards 2023; has been featured on the cover of Tidal Music’s Piano Spheres playlist; and has seen numerous tracks featured in Apple Music curated playlists.
A familiar face on stages across Atlantic Canada, Jennifer has presented hundreds of recitals for many of our region’s iconic festivals and concert series. Jennifer also has co-written a musical play with mezzo-soprano Suzanne Campbell about women gaining the right to vote. “The Bessie Carruthers Study Club” features Jennifer as British composer and suffragist, Ethel Smyth while Suzanne plays the titular real life figure of Bessie. This play won a Prince Edward Island Heritage Recognition Award in March 2024 and received funding to tour by Innovation PEI and PEI Culture Action Plan.
April 25th Jennifer releases a solo album of music by women composers such as Ethel Smyth and Clara Wieck-Schumann. I was happy to have the opportunity to ask her some questions.
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Barczablog: Are you more like your father or mother?
Jennifer King: My mother was a piano teacher who taught me at a very early age to sing and play. She showed me how the music staves worked when I was 4 and then I immediately read the whole beginner piano book. Reading music has always made sense to my brain, and I love the brain stimulation from reading music, absorbing it and performing music on the piano.
BB: What is the best or worst thing about what you do?
Jennifer King: While I don’t enjoy sitting for long periods of time, I do enjoy the activity of sitting at the piano. But I love being physically active so I power walk, hike (backwoods backpacking) and sea kayak, all great activities I love that provide a nice balance with my long hours at the piano.
BB: Who do you like to listen to or watch?
Jennifer King: Right now I am rewatching Mad Men. I hope we aren’t going back to those times.
BB: What ability or skill do you wish you had, that you don’t have?
Jennifer King: I would love to be better at hearing chord progressions. I can remember melodies but I would love to be more skilled in harmonic listening. Both my son and mother are SO good at this. I am jealous of them!
BB: When you’re just relaxing and not working, what is your favourite thing to do?
Jennifer King: Bake and make soup.
BB: Who do you think of first, when I ask you to name the best pianist ?
Jennifer King: Martha Argerich
BB: What was your first experience of music ?
Jennifer King: I don’t remember as it’s been that long, but my first performance was singing when I was 5 years old. My mother’s student, also 5, accompanied me on the piano. I think it was called the Chipmunk’s Lullaby.
BB What’s your favourite piece of piano music?
Jennifer King: Anything by Ravel
BB: do you have any ideas about reforming / modernizing classical music culture to better align with modern audiences ?
Jennifer King: Yes! I feel we need to use simpler language and take away the exclusivity of the classical world. This music speaks and tells stories, there are SO many entry ways to introduce new and diverse audiences, but we can’t keep doing the “same ol’ same ol’” . Music lives and breathes and can transcend time. Curation and inclusive vision at the top of arts organizations can help keep classical audiences engaged and refreshed.
BB: Talk about women in the classical music business. Is it roughly the same as society, or perhaps better? or worse?
Jennifer King: Unfortunately there is a long culture of “shelving” women in the classical music business and this includes composers and performers. I feel it is worse than in society. I love what Lady Gaga said recently about her lifetime achievement award at 38. I mean really? She took them to task for this award which basically said “ your time is up!” Music is a lifetime career and if you have the drive and energy to keep exploring and pushing yourself, no one has the right to limit you. That’s why I included Joni Mitchell on this album. What an inspiration!
BB: As mentioned, your upcoming record features Women Composers. Classical music is changing very slowly. Between #MeToo, artists being called out, or instrumental activist Katherine Needleman would you say that the classical music world is changing fast enough for you?
Jennifer King: NO it is not changing fast enough but slowly and surely I hope things will improve. Yes, this album features composers who are women but the album is also about giving voice to composers who haven’t always had representation in concert halls. I have been working at championing female composers, and supporting composers in my community for some time.
When I discovered Ethel Smyth’s music it made me very curious about what other voices aren’t being heard, which led me to learning more about Mel Bonis, Fanny Mendelssohn and on and on… There are SO many voices to discover! This album just scratches the surface.
BB: Tell us more about the female composers on your recording.
Jennifer King: I am particularly fond of Ethel Smyth and her music. There is only one short Nocturne on this album but I have performed some of her songs, including her famous suffragette anthem, March of the Women, and will soon perform her Violin/Piano Sonata. I have also read her memoirs and listened to her operas and other large scale works. She was a force to be reckoned with! She gave up composing for two years to dedicate herself to helping British women gain the right to vote. I co-wrote a musical play with my friend, PEI singer Suzanne Campbell about Ethel’s battle called the Bessie Carruthers Study Club. Again, Ethel is a force and a beautiful composer with stunning music that should be more known.
BB: Wow, I see it was presented last year..! I hope you will get to present this again, perhaps here in Ontario.
Jennifer King: Thank you. This play was a lot of work and we were lucky the past two summers to receive support and funding to present it – once in a small theatre in PEI for a residency in 2023 – The Souris Showhouse and in the summer 2024, Innovation PEI and PEI Culture Action Plan gave us a grant to do a tour in PEI and Nova Scotia.
Both Suzanne and I would love to present it again and hope to so possibly this summer or in 2026! We are very open to presenters or conferences as this is a fun interactive show as the audience becomes the study club and it includes sing -alongs as well.
It’s lots of fun playing Ethel Smyth.
BB: Are women composers getting their due finally?
Jennifer King: It’s starting, but everyone (at all levels of arts organizations and in the music business) has to be on board. International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month are great opportunities to showcase female -identifying composers, but this problem is endemic. Concerted efforts need to be made with orchestras and arts organizations. [do we finally listen to them simply because they’re good? or are we still noticing the gender] We should listen because the music is extremely worthy and tells a bigger narrative about life from a woman’s perspective.
BB: Do you have any upcoming projects / shows / workshops you might want to mention / promote?
Jennifer King: Sure! I have a concert in Halifax on Saturday April 14th 7:30 pm at The Music Room with a violist from the OSM- Rosie Shaw. She is also a composer and has written solo works for viola, violin and viola/piano duo for the concert. We are also performing Rebecca Clarke’s Viola and Piano Sonata and Ethel Smyth’s Violin and Piano Sonata. Rosie and I have corresponded by email and had a few phone conversations, she heard my Scriabin Nocturne recording on CBC and loved my playing so much, she reached out to do a concert here. I think that’s pretty cool, and also very flattering. I can’t wait to start rehearsals with her.
Also excited for the “Souvenance” album launch on April 28th, 7pm at Central Library in Halifax, NS which the Mel Bonis website in France has also just shared. I am so honoured.
BB: Are music programs doing enough to prepare students for the business?
Jennifer King: No not really, but there are other organizations that can help. Here in Nova Scotia we have Music Nova Scotia. I have learned lots of great business skills from attending their conferences and workshops.
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JENNIFER’S NEW ALBUM RELEASES ON 04.25.25
Jennifer King’s solo piano album Souvenance is a collection of nocturnes, romances, and meditations grounded in the romantic era and branching into the 20th century. Including rarely heard music by Ethel Smyth, Clara Wieck-Schumann’s beloved “Notturno”, and Jennifer’s own meditation on Joni Mitchell’s “Blue”, the album is an introspective journey rich with heartbreak, hope, strength, and tenderness. Recorded in Jennifer’s living room, Souvenance invites the listener to sit on the piano bench beside her for a deeply personal experience of the music. Souvenance’s composers are all women, most of whom faced formidable gender-based barriers to having their voices heard.
The album launch on Facebook can be found here.
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