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Over the past fifteen years, flutist Jeannine Dennis has established herself
as both a dynamic soloist and sensitive ensemble performer. Her purity of sound
and technical gifts bring praise from fellow musicians and critics alike.
A native of San Jose, Jeannine Dennis began flute studies at the age of nine,
studying initially with a dear friend and teacher, Belle Miller. Later, she
became a student of Ina Mae Holt. As a student at San Jose State University she
studied with Isabelle Chapuis-Starr, a student of the renowned Jean-Pierre
Rampal.
Dr. Dennis was awarded a full scholarship to attend the University of
Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Bradley Garner
(flute) and Jack Wellbaum (piccolo). From this institution, she earned both her Master of Music
and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees. As the winner of the school's
prestigious Concerto Competition in 1997, she performed Lowell Liebermann's
Concerto for Piccolo and Orchestra with the Concert
Orchestra the following season. She has participated in masterclasses of Julius
Baker, Jill Felber, Randy Bowman and Samuel Sanders. As a member of the
Ensemble for Eighteenth Century Music, Dr. Dennis was an artist in residence at
the Lucca Opera Festival in Lucca, Italy.
Besides frequent appearances as a soloist in recital, she has been a member
of orchestras including the Northern Kentucky Symphony and the Master Sinfonia
in California. Her broad repertoire encompasses a substantial amount of solo and
ensemble literature ranging from Baroque to contemporary styles. A specialist in
twentieth-century literature, she has recorded and performed the works of Lowell
Liebermann, including his Piccolo Concerto, Sonata for Flute and Piano and
Soliloquy. Maestro Liebermann has commented on her performances with such
superlatives as "wonderful!" and "bravo!"
On November 29, 2006, Jeannine Dennis and pianist Philip Amalong performed to an audience of nearly 400 at the Chicago Cultural Arts Center on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial
Concert Series. The Concert was both televised and broadcast live over the radio.
Her solo recordings include Oh Holy Night, (2006; Dennis Music & Productions) American Souvenir (2005; Albany Records, TROY718) and Music for Flute and Piano
(Eroica JDT3052) with
pianist Philip Amalong. Of American Souvenir, Raymond S. Tuttle writes in
International Record Review (April 2005); "Jeannine Dennis is next in the line of great
American flute virtuosos, right up there with Julius Baker, Paula Robison, and
Ransom Wilson."
Her ensemble recordings include: William Grant Still, with the Cincinnati
Philharmonia
Orchestra, Centaur Records; Dimitri Ashkenazy, Clarinet, with the Cincinnati
Philharmonia Orchestra, Pan Classics; The Haydn Symphonies with the
Ensemble for Eighteenth Century Music, Centaur Records; Boccherini Symphonies, Numbers 6,
8, & 26, and The Bach Boys, Sinfonias by Sons of Johann Sebastian Bach with
the Ensemble for Eighteenth Century Music, Klavier Records International.
Dr. Dennis has produced Masterclass events in the California Bay Area and in the Central Valley for such artists as
Jill Felber, the Flute duo, ZAWA! (Jeannine Dennis,
manager), Randolph Bowman
(Principal flute, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra), and Robert Stallman. She also helped to produce the
Cincinnati Flute Symposium
from 1995-2002, and was promoted to Assistant Director to Director Bradley Garner in June
2001.
Dr. Dennis lives in California where she maintains an active flute studio and
performs solo recitals. She is also a web designer and avid gardener.
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