We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Linda Jenkins. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Linda below.

Linda, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Instead of going in depth on a single specific project, I’d like to talk about one of the overarching goals I’ve set as a musician and how it has manifested across many concerts and other creative outlets. I’m incredibly passionate about performing new or recently written music by under-represented voices. Before college, the newest music I came in contact with was in high school band playing Frank Ticheli or Eric Whitacre (i.e. incredibly popular, white, contemporary American composers). In my undergraduate program at Bowling Green State Univ. in Ohio, USA I was immediately thrust into a world of alternative techniques, new (to me)sounds and new styles of music . My flute professor demonstrated a piece in my lesson where the flute imitated a drum set using various percussive sounds. Not all the music sounded so different from what I’d been exposed to earlier, but it was incredibly common to communicate with the composers of these works and have them provide feedback to our large ensembles prior to performances. Suddenly, music making became incredibly collaborative in a way I hadn’t experienced before. Additionally, I was exposed to music outside of the largely male and Euro-centric classical norm. This greatly influenced my music world-view going into my graduate degrees.
In my Master’s (Univ. Oregon, USA), I was premiering works on a monthly basis and getting to perform with other incredible contemporary musicians on a regular basis under the tutelage of Molly Barth (my primary teacher, a renowned contemporary flutist and educator). After graduating, I commissioned a full recital of new works from the Oregon Composer’s Forum and was given the opportunity to work one-on-one with each composer to bring their music to fruition. I also played in various professional chamber groups dedicated to performing new works inspired by world cultures and music. My next academic adventure took me to North Texas and has involved many recital performances, which I used as a chance to showcase new works for my peers and have premiered multiple solo piccolo and flute pieces written for me by Martin Quiroga Jr., a Houston-based musician. We most recently collaborated on a piece for solo flute that flutist/dancer Martin Godoy choreographed and performed with me in Spring of 2023.
Outside of the performance realm, I serve on the convention committee of the North Texas Flute Society as a competition coordinator for the high school flute competition. It’s my job to choose repertoire for the students to submit and perform for the competition. In this role, I endeavor to expose both young performers and their audience to solo flute works outside of the classic, Euro-centric canon. As an educator, I strive to expose my students to a wide variety of musical styles and composer voices through both repertoire choices and outside listening or concert requirements. It’s incredibly important to continue to expose ourselves and the next generation of musicians/artists to diverse voices and creative methods. More and more educators and organizations are aligning with this viewpoint and I’m looking forward to all of the music we will experience in the future.

I’d like to highlight a few ensembles and projects that are more recent.
Vox Venti, a flute quartet I co-founded, primarily performs new music by under-represented voices. Our next recital features the work of Valerie Coleman and Iranian composer Mehran Rouhani. April, 2024
The UTSA Flute Ensemble, which I conduct as part of my work at the Univ. of Texas at San Antonio, is dedicaated to expanding the flute choir repertoire with diverse voices and will perform on the national stage at the National Flute Association annual conference with a program featuring all student and alumni composers. August, 2024
Dr. Rachel Woolf and I premiered a concerto for two flutes and wind ensemble with the UTSA Wind Ensemble, “Cuando Hablan Los Vientos” (When The Winds Speak) by Arturo Rodriguez. March, 2024

Linda, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Linda Jenkins is an ardent collaborative musician and teacher based in San Antonio, Texas. She currently serves as Lecturer of Flute at the University of Texas at San Antonio, as well as teaching privately in the greater metroplex, can be heard playing with various performing groups and frequently works with local composers as a soloist and chamber musician. Most recently, Linda can be heard on the album ‘In Focus 6’, released in June 2022 by RMN Music. She is also featured alongside the University of North Texas Wind Symphony on their recent releases ‘Closure’ and ‘Respair’ through GIA Wind Works in Fall of 2023. Vox Venti, her Denton-based flute quartet, performs across the country with programs featuring living women composers and under-represented voices. In 2018, Linda commissioned and premiered a full recital of works for solo flute and piccolo in collaboration with the Oregon Composers Forum. Linda received top prize in the Alexander&Buono International Flute Competition in 2023 and was named a Quarterfinalist at the 2023 NFA Young Artist Competition. Additionally, she has been named a finalist and winner in numerous flute and piccolo competitions across the country. Linda has appeared as a guest performer at the biennial Oregon Bach Festival’s Composer Symposium, SEAMUS, University of Oregon’s Musicking conference, Greater Portland Flute Society’s Spring Flute Fair, and the National Flute Association convention. She also works with composition students across the country as an Artist-in-Residence, workshopping and premiering student works for solo flute and piccolo.
Linda has a B.M. from Bowling Green State University and a M.M. from the University of Oregon where she studied with Dr. Conor Nelson and Professor Molly Barth respectively. She recently completed a Graduate Artist Certificate with Professor Terri Sundberg at the University of North Texas and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Music from the same institution.

Where you can find me:
ljenkinsflute.com
@linda.plays.flute (Instagram)
@ljenkinsflute (YouTube)

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

The best way to support a thriving creative ecosystem is to consume art! Go write your emails at that local coffee shop/ceramics studio. Choose to purchase art from the local arts festival instead of relying on the big chain store. Do you love to sing? Join the local volunteer choir. Looking for a date night idea? Go see the local symphony perform something you’ve never heard before and talk about it over drinks afterwards. For the budget-conscious consumer, local universities are full of young artists, dancers, and musicians who would be so excited to see new people in their audience. Often, university shows are inexpensive or completely free. Don’t want to leave the house? Interact with us on social media! Or watch our livestreams, many musicians have live streaming options for performances.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, connection is the most rewarding aspect of being a musician. This manifests in multiple ways. As a performer, I’m able to connect with my audience through gesture and storytelling. There’s a charged silence in the room immediately before and after a performance that tells me my audience is in the moment with me. It’s incredibly invigorating. We also connect musician to musician when playing with another person onstage, whether it’s solo instrument and piano, chamber group, or as a larger ensemble. There is something special about the collective act of creating music. A third way is through teaching. I’m able to connect with younger musicians and flutists who are at various stages of their journey and we learn from each other, experience new music and ideas, and ultimately grow together.

Contact Info:

• Website: ljenkinsflute.com
• Instagram: @linda.plays.flute
• Youtube: ljenkinsflute
• Other: Vox Venti Flute Quartet @voxventiquartet (YouTube) University of Texas at San Antonio Flute Studio @utsaflutes (Instagram)

Image Credits
Drake Design Photography Mikayla Peterson