Jennifer Stephenson

Edinburgh-born clarinettist Jennifer Stephenson graduated with an MMus in performance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland before attaining a Cycle Spécialisé Diplôme d’Etudes Musicales (with a Première Prix in Clarinet and Chamber Music) at the Conservatoire Pierre Barbizet de Marseille.

Jennifer enjoys a busy and diverse freelance career. As an orchestral musician, she has performed with the BBC Scottish Symphony, Royal Scottish National, Scottish Ballet, Scottish Opera, Ulster and the Albanian Radio and Television Orchestras and has appeared regularly at prestigious music festivals across the UK such as the Aldeburgh Festival, BBC Proms, Celtic Connections, Edinburgh International Festival, Sound Festival, Techtonics and the St Magnus Festival.

Her extensive catalogue of recordings and broadcasts encompasses diverse musical genres including classical, indie-rock, pop, video games and film scores. She has worked with BBC Radio 3, Hyperion, Naxos, Netflix, Rough Trade Records, recording with Belle and Sebastian, the Scottish Session Orchestra and was a featured artist on Christian Henson’s original score for the film ‘Bank of Dave’. Jennifer has also performed live with pop greats, Lulu, Travis and will appear with Rufus Wainright later this year.

A keen chamber musician, Jennifer has performed throughout Europe with professional ensembles including Arunda, Cameo Clarinet Quartet, Korça Ensemble, Opera Bohemia, Scottish Wind Ensemble and was excited to perform Raven Chacon’s Voiceless Mass with the Scottish Ensemble at the 2025 Edinburgh Art Festival.

Jennifer has a passion for contemporary music and has premiered works in collaboration with Timothy Cooper and Thomas Butler. She is a founding member of the Glasgow New Music Expedition and performs regularly with the new music group, Ensemble Thing.

Dedicated to widening access to the arts, Jennifer has been a Live Music Now!, Music in Hospitals and Chamber Music Scotland artist, promoting inclusivity within marginalised communities across Scotland. She is a regular member of the BBC SSO education team and recently worked with Lucy Drever to deliver workshops for the 2025 Edinburgh International Festival’s Community Connections project. Jennifer also performs with Children’s Theatre Company, Oak Note.

Jennifer holds an MA Arts in Festival and Cultural Management from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. She is a Director of the Scottish Clarinet Festival and Board member of The Glasgow Barons.

Jennifer is Woodwind Lecturer at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, a post she has held since 2017. She won an RCS Athenaeum Engagement Award in 2024 to work with the British Double Reed Society on delivering ‘Double Reed Rescue’, a project which supports the learning and teaching of double reed instruments in Scotland.