Jenny Asparro has been teaching violin in MacPhail’s individual instruction and school partnership program areas since 2015. Throughout her career, she has taught the violin through private lessons, group classes, orchestra sectionals, music camps and chamber music, as well as classes in music theory, aural skills and music history.
Jenny believes that music education is a partnership between teacher and student, and it is important to get to know and respect each other. She uses principles from the Suzuki method and traditional methods, using games and kinesthetic and visual activities to benefit all ages and types of learners.
Jenny has performed with orchestras across the nation including the Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Newport Symphony Orchestra and St. Andrew’s Orchestra. Her playing has been on National Public Radio and Broadcasting, including Prairie Home Companion and Classical MPR. She was the featured soloist on the St. Olaf Orchestra’s United States Tour and associate concertmaster of the orchestra, which earned the American Prize in 2013. She founded J&J’s Music Camp in 2008 and taught at the Portland Youth Philharmonic, El Sistema Minnesota and her private studio before joining the MacPhail community.
She holds a Bachelors of Arts in music and neuroscience from St. Olaf College. She also has extensive research experience in biology and neuroscience, and uses this knowledge to facilitate ergonomic playing and learning strategies.
