Jennifer Burford

Performer/Teacher

Canadian violinist Jennifer Burford eagerly searches for new musical experiences to develop her versatility as a musician. Whether it be as a soloist, a chamber musician, a section leader in orchestra, or as a collaborator on jazz and pop albums, she meets every challenge with an organic combination of natural creative instincts and skilled execution.

Jennifer completed her Bachelor of Music in Performance at the University of Toronto with Honours in 2004. There she studied with Mark Skazinetsky, Associate Concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. In the fall of 2004, she completed a Career Development Residency at the Banff Centre performing in a chamber music setting with Canadian and International artists Alain Trudel, Gwen Hoebig, and Marc Durand to name a few. She also holds an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School and a Master of Music in Violin Performance from the University of Toronto, both completed through studies with Erika Raum.

As a chamber musician, Jennifer has been featured in national and international festivals, including the Casalmaggiore International Summer Music Festival, Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society, Stanford String Quartet Seminar with the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Guelph Spring Festival, Soundstreams, Domaine Forget Summer Festival, Barrie’s Colours of Music, and as a member of Klezfactor at the Ashkenaz Festival. She is a recipient of the Felix Galimir Award, the University of Toronto’s highest award for chamber music performance. She is currently a member of the Queer Songbook Orchestra,  an 11-piece chamber ensemble, made up of a selection of the top queer and allied musicians working in Toronto. Not simply covering the songs as per the original artists recording, the QSO commission all new interpretations of the material from many of Canada’s top composers and arrangers, and present the songs alongside the narratives that illustrate their place in the Songbook.

As an orchestral musician Jennifer has performed with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Mirvish Productions, Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, Toronto Concert Orchestra, Toronto Philharmonia, and Sinfonia Toronto.  She regularly performs with the chamber orchestra Canadian Sinfonietta as their Principal Second Violin.  She has also performed with Diana Krall, the Canadian Tenors, Roger Hodgson, Frank Sinatra Jr., and Marvin Hamlisch. Her orchestral training has extended to several summer festivals, including the Banff Centre Master class and Opera Orchestra sessions, Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, Toronto Summer Music Festival, and three seasons with the National Academy Orchestra.

Jennifer enjoys teaching violin privately to both children and adults. In her eleven years as a teacher, she has taught at the Toronto French School, Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts, Havergal College, Claude Watson School for the Arts, Toronto Suzuki Studio and the North York Suzuki School. She has taken training in Books 1-8 in the Suzuki Method and completed training in the Creative Ability Development method of improvisation. She is a current faculty member of the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre Suzuki Program and the Royal Conservatory of Music.