Soprano Jennifer Owen-Blackmon is known
for her purity of tone and sensitive interpretations of
Renaissance and Baroque music. She has performed with
numerous Bay Area ensembles including Philharmonia Baroque
Orchestra, AVE, Chalice Consort, San Francisco Choral
Artists, Pacific Collegium, California Bach Society, Eya!,
San Francisco Renaissance Voices and the Harvest of Song
project. For five years she served as soprano section leader
for St. Dominic’s Catholic Church in San Francisco, and was
a featured soloist on their last European tour. She
currently freelances with a variety of churches and other
ensembles in the Bay Area.
Jenni’s last appearance at the Berkeley
Festival was on the main stage in 2008, when she was honored
to sing in the North American premiere of Alessandro
Striggio’s epic Missa
sopra “Ecco sì beato giorno” in cinque corri divisa.
She’s excited to return to this year’s festival, performing
some of her favorite florid Italian repertoire with
Charites.
Jenni holds a Masters degree in Vocal
Performance from Indiana University’s Early Music Institute,
and a second Masters in Arts Administration from Indiana
University-Bloomington. She completed her Bachelor of Arts
in Music and Biology at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania,
where she studied voice, flute, dance and much more. She
works by day (and lots of nights) as a marketing director
and advertising account manager for arts organizations and
healthcare and tech companies, large and small.
Though not a Wellesley College alumna
like Brooke and Cecilia, she does claim a connection to the
college too – it was her first employer. Jenni was born and
raised in Wellesley, MA and enjoys walks on the campus
whenever she’s back in town.