The people of the Highlands are about to bare witness to one of the best wind instrumentalists Australia has to offer.
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Supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW, the Sydney Wind Symphony with Music Director, Mark Brown, featuring The Southern Highlands Concert Band, will present Curtain Up.
As apart of Create NSW ongoing commitment to showcasing Australian soloists and wind ensemble music in the country, second year Trumpet Fellow with the Sydney Symphony Orchestras Fellowship Program, Jenna Smith will perform as a guest soloist at Curtain Up.
Jenna’s adoration for the trumpet began with admiration for a friend. “My brother’s best friend played the trumpet,” Jenna said. “I thought he was extremely cool and I wanted to be like him. He taught me the C major scale and I went from there.”
Participating in the Australian Youth Orchestra programs (AYO) since 2012, helped shape Jenna as a professional musician. “It made me want to pursue music as a career,” Jenna said.
“I was never really pushed to make music my career but the AYO instilled the passion and the drive and made me think that a career in music is very much possible.”
The beginnings of this career were met with hardship and pressure but she didn’t let that dissuade her ambitions. “Auditioning for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) Fellowship Program was very competitive,” Jenna said. “They have around 20 to 25 trumpeters from across the country audition and only one of them makes it.”
Jenna was the one who made it into the SSO fellowship program and has toured the world performing since. In 2016 she performed with the Australian World Orchestra Academy Program with a tour of Singapore.
“The tour was very quick but I quite liked Singapore,” Jenna said. “I’ve also played in China and Cuba, so I felt very comfortable in my quick stay in Singapore.”
2016 was a very successful year for Jenna. As well as touring, she completed her Bachelor of Music performance degree with first class honours, studying at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with Andrew Evans.
While studying, Jenna received the Ted and Susan Meller Memorial Scholarship, the James Witheford Foundation Award for Brass, and the Busby Musical Scholarship. She also played in masterclasses for musicians such as Håkan Hardenberger and Markus Wursch.
2018 is Jenna’s second stint as a Trumpet Fellow in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) Fellowship program. Her performance this Sunday will give the Highlands attendees a rare sight, a trumpet solo.
“Usually it’s the violin or cello getting the solo,” Jenna said. “You don’t always get to hear a trumpet solo so it’s quite the rarity.”
Jenna will be a guest soloist at the Curtain Up concert November 25 at Bowral Memorial Hall. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for concession. They are available from trybooking.com or at the door.