Jenna Ames

Ms. Ames grew up in North Carolina. She started violin lessons at the age of 6, studying with Ilse Mann of Raleigh, NC. She was, and is always, encouraged and inspired by her grandmother's love of classical music.

She attended Appalachian State University in Boone NC for her Bachelors and Masters degrees in violin and viola, studying with Dr. Nancy Bargerstock and Dr. Eric Koontz, respectively. Both of her degrees are in music performance, but she took a large number of education and pedagogical courses throughout the years and developed a passion for teaching music.

Jenna has spent most of her time teaching private lessons to students of all ages and playing for regional orchestras such as the Western Piedmont Symphony and Symphony of the Mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee. Since 2016, she has spent her summers in Hancock, New York working for the French Woods Festival of the Performing arts. There, she has played for several musical theater productions, orchestral concerts, taught numerous lessons, and has led the camp's beginning and intermediate string ensembles. 

​In August of 2019, she moved with her husband to Urbana, Illinois, where he is studying for a doctorate in music. She is excited to become a part of the musical community in Urbana-Champaign!