Jennifer Best, Violin

Professional Bio

Originally from North Carolina, violinist Jennifer Best is currently the assistant concertmaster of the Sarasota Orchestra, as well as violinist of the resident Sarasota Piano Quartet. Prior to joining the Sarasota Orchestra in 2005, Jennifer served as a rotating co-concertmaster of the New World Symphony, under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. She received a high school diploma and bachelor of music degree from the North Carolina School of the Arts and a master of music degree from Manhattan School of Music. While in New York, she performed chamber music at the New-York Historical Society and in the "Meet the Composers" series at Columbia University, and was a member of Manhattan School of Music's "Claremont Ensemble", a group dedicated to performing new music. During her time in New World Symphony, she was so fortunate to have the opportunity to perform numerous chamber music concerts throughout the Tuscany and Umbria regions of Italy. Her vast orchestral experience includes performances with the Kennedy Center Opera Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, New York Chamber Opera, National Repertory Orchestra, National Orchestral Institute, Spoleto Festival USA Festival Orchestra and Breckenridge Music Festival. Her principal teachers have included Elaine Richey, Nicholas Mann, Robert Mann, Mitchell Stern and Sylvia Rosenberg. 

In addition to performing with the Sarasota Orchestra, Jennifer has spent recent summers peforming with the Santa Fe Opera, Sun Valley Summer Symphony and as associate concertmaster and faculty member of Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina.

Personal Bio

Nickname:
Jen, Yen or Three (I credit the Chandras for this one).  

What is your proudest musical accomplishment?
Performing as concertmaster for the 2004 New World Symphony tour to Rome, Italy. I was honored to be an important part of such an exciting and inspiring orchestral experience.  

What non-musical accomplishment are you most proud of?
It's not really an accomplishment, but I feel very fortunate to have had such a well-rounded and multi-faceted high school experience, playing tennis and soccer and hanging out with friends; all while feeling guilty about how much I should be practicing!  

What career would you have chosen if you weren't a musician?
All throughout high school I wanted to be a doctor. When I found out how difficult it was to get into medical school, I decided to start practicing.  

Who is your favorite composer and why?
I have two composers that I always love. The first is Prokofiev. I love the wit and sarcasm that his music typically evokes, paired with his beautiful and creative harmonic structuring. The second composer is Brahms. His violin sonatas are, in my opinion, some of the greatest works ever written for the instrument. And who doesn't love Brahms violin concerto?  

Which piece of music holds the most meaning for you and why?
I performed Arnold Schoenberg's "Transfigured Night" during a difficult time in graduate school when my violin teacher was gravely ill. The emotional complexity of the piece mirrored exactly how I was feeling at the time.  

When not rehearsing or performing, I spend my time:
working out, playing racquetball, bowling, throwing the occasional dinner party, or going out with friends and enjoying this ever-growing, beautiful community.  

When in the car, I listen to:
Mostly silence. When listening to music is what I spend most of the day doing, the silence is sometimes welcome.  

My favorite holiday tradition is:
spending Christmas day opening presents with my parents, brother, sister and their families. Later that day, my mom makes an incredible traditional Southern meal complete with turkey, stuffing and collards!  

What I like best about the Sarasota/Manatee area:
I think the incredible weather we have here goes without saying. I also enjoy the small-town feel of Sarasota and the avid support we as musicians get from everyone here in the community.  

People are surprised when they learn this about me:
I played oboe for 2 years in junior high school band. Everyone seemed impressed with how fast I could play "Turkey in the Straw"!