Jenna Richards

Piano

Jenna Richards Before completing high school, Jenna Richards had earned her ARCT diploma in both piano and violin, studying in her native Halifax. Jenna completed her Bachelor of Music in Performance at the University of Toronto, garnering consecutive Glenn Gould Scholarships, the Fey Hethrington Scholarship, and the Lydia Wong scholarship for excelling in instrumental collaboration as well as nine consecutive Nova Scotia Talent Trust awards. Jenna’s passion for collaborative music has led her to perform at Tuckamore Chamber Music Festival (St. John’s), the Four Seasons Center for the Performing Arts (Toronto), Ottawa Chamberfest (Ottawa), Centre d’Arts Orford (Quebec), National Arts Centre (Ottawa), Festival Pontiac Enchanté (Quebec), and for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s “Young People’s Concert Series” among many others. Following her performance degree, Jenna completed her Master of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership at Carleton to pursue a multifaceted career. Her portfolio comprises performance, arts administration, public speaking, research, and production. She is the Associate Music Director of the Canadian Centennial Choir and works with a host of instrumentalists including frequent duo partner, Beth Silver (cello). She is also known for jumping into collaborative situations in the choral, musical theatre, and vocal arts communities. As part of the artistic team at Ottawa Chamberfest, Jenna programs over 100 events a year from mainstage performances to concerts in palliative care and for children with exceptionalities. Jenna has spoken at The Walrus Talks and across all mediums of radio and television bilingually as well as contributing to podcasts, conferences, and Zoom sessions on a regular basis. Completing Jenna’s portfolio career is her life as a researcher where she has coordinated national projects and earned a reputation for her distinctively practical academic work. She is involved with the Music and Health Research Institute at the University of Ottawa, actively exploring adapted programming for individuals with exceptionalities to increase the accessibility of the arts. She also continues to mentor music students in entrepreneurship, arts administration, and inclusivity practices. Jenna is currently pursuing a PhD in Interdisciplinary Research in Music at the University of Ottawa where she is investigating the relevance of performance degrees in the lives of professional musicians. In her (little) spare time, Jenna loves to be in nature, play soccer, travel, and learn languages.