Jenny Bent

What I Do at SSU

As the conductor of the Sonoma State University Chorus and Chamber Singers, I provide students the opportunity to experience our rich and diverse music history through performance of choral works that span the ages. Building upon a shared love of the art of vocal performance, our community of singers further enriches its choral education through the development of musicianship skills and performance techniques. I also enjoy teaching Ear Training and Conducting.

My Bio

Jenny Bent, DMA, is the Director of Choral Activities at Sonoma State University, where she serves as conductor of the University Chorus and Chamber Singers. She is a graduate of Boston University (BM in Voice Performance, MM in Choral Conducting, MM in Voice Performance) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (DMA in Choral Conducting and Choral Literature). Her teachers include Ann Howard Jones, Fred Stoltzfus, Susan Ormont, and Jerold Siena. She has also worked with such choir eminences as Robert Shaw, Joseph Jennings, Matthew Oltman, Peter Bagley, Dennis Keene, and Julian Wachner. In addition to directing the SSU choirs, Dr. Bent teaches Conducting, Ear Training, and Voice.

In California, Jenny Bent’s choirs have received much acclaim, earning unanimous superior ratings and command performances at choral festivals throughout the Bay Area and receiving invitations to perform at such venues as Carnegie Hall in New York City and Disney Hall in Los Angeles. She has ten years of experience as a high school music educator, most recently having served as the Director of Vocal Music at the Marin School of the Arts. From 2002-2007 she was the artistic director and conductor of the award-winning teen treble choir, Chantons. Dr. Bent also served on the voice faculty of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, which is part of the Tanglewood Music Center, the summer home of the Boston Symphony.

In addition to her academic work, Jenny Bent serves as an adjudicator for such organizations as the California Music Educators Association and the American Choral Directors Association and a clinician for choirs throughout the Bay Area and beyond. Due to her love of research, Dr. Bent enjoys shedding light on various aspects of choral music history. For example, she transcribed, edited, and has worked to publish recently discovered choral works by Peter von Winter, a contemporary of Mozart. In addition, she hosts the radio show The Choir Loft on KRCB, the Sonoma County National Public Radio affiliate.