Personal History
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Jennifer Wade was born and raised in Arlington, Virginia, and began playing the violin at the age of eleven.  Although Jennifer began her instruction as an older student, she advanced quickly and began participating in many of the best opportunities available to students in the region, including various Honors Orchestras, Regional Orchestras, and chamber music coachings.  By the time Jennifer was a freshman in high school, she was already performing professional programs with the Arlington Symphony as part of the organization's Apprentice Program. 

Jennifer's teaching experience began early under the direction of her high school orchestra conductor and her private teacher. Jennifer worked regularly as the primary substitute teacher for the private studio to which she belonged, in addition to working with students in the high school orchestra during sectionals and special instruction periods. At the completion of her sophomore year, Jennifer had already built a small studio of her own.

After high school, Jennifer attended the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University in pursuit of her Bachelor's Degree in Music (Violin Performance). In 1997, Jennifer was the winner of the school's prestigious Branscomb Award for overall excellence. While at Vanderbilt, Jennifer signed on as an Adjunct Professor of Violin at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky, working with the Pre-Collegiate Program. When home during the summer months, Jennifer served as a faculty member for Chamber Music of Arlington, a summer program geared toward advanced level middle and high school students.

Upon returning to the Washington, DC area, Jennifer has served on the faculty of the Levine School's summer String Camp, as well as a judge for the Northern Virginia Music Teacher's Association Violin Concerto Competition, the District XII Orchestra Festival, the Fine Arts Apprentice Program, and the Reflections Contest. Jennifer's students have consistently won auditions for the area's most competitive youth organizations and schools including, the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras and the Duke Ellington School for the Arts.

In May of 2009, Jennifer co-founded Prelude: The Arlington Youth Orchestral Program, an Arlington based orchestral ensemble for advancing young musicians. Serving as the organization's conductor and Music Director, Jennifer has designed the program to offer a unique focus on developing the subtle, more intuitive skills required of making music with others (heavily based in nonverbal communication). Now in its third season, Prelude proudly boasts previous and upcoming collaborations with the IBIS Chamber Music Society, The Emperor's Ensemble, Encore Stage and Studio, and the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra SCORE Program, among others.

As an active freelance musician in the Washington, DC area, Jennifer has performed with notable groups such as the National Philharmonic, The Washington Concert Opera, The Cathedral Arts Society, The Baltimore Ballet, The Maryland, Alexandria, Fairfax, and Arlington Symphonies, The Virginia Consort, and others.  

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