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Glenn
Jenks
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As a teen he studied at the Wellesley branch of the New England Conservatory with David DeLisle, and went on to graduate Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in music from Earlham College in Richmond, IN. As an undergraduate he studied with Lawrence Berman, Donald Chan, Leonard Holvik, Lawrence Apgar, and Manfred Blum, garnering departmental high honors and honorable mention in the Woodrow Wilson Foundation competition. Jenks taught in private schools for three years before embarking on a career as a solo performer of folk music and ragtime, and in 1975 he joined gifted country music singer and humorist Jud Strunk as guitarist and vocalist. He toured with Strunk for three years, appearing all across North America in a wide variety of venues, including the glitzy clubs of Las Vegas and the summer musical theater circuit where they were paired with such distinguished acts as Manhattan Transfer and Andy Williams. He returned to solo performance in 1978, and resumed his private teaching practice in 1984. During the 1980's Jenks was frequently associated with the New Vaudeville revival, serving as official pianist of the New England New Vaudeville Review, and later as accompanist for the exquisitely talented mime and dance team Tony and Karen Montanaro. He frequently appeared with song and dance team Brian Jones and Susan Boyce, and for eleven years produced the popular annual Harvest Ragtime Review. He currently instructs about two dozen people of all ages in piano and music theory, and tours occasionally with his own lively program of American and New World music. Jenks made his first recording in 1979 and has gone on to make nine others on a variety of independent labels, including Fretless, Stomp Off, Viridiana, and his own Bonnie Banks. In addition, he has also recorded with other artists, including folk legend Gordon Bok, and jazz pianist Dan Grinstead. He is a fixture at numerous ragtime festivals where he is known for his energetic playing, versatility, and unflagging good spirits. Having started composing before the age of 12, Jenks is the creator of dozens of works in a sophisticated ragtime idiom, including a String Quartet in Ragtime; plus numerous classical chamber works, songs, and other works for solo piano. He lives and works in beautiful Camden, ME where he has resided since 1975, and where he also finds time to grow roses. |
Glenn Jenks simply doesn't recall a day in his life without music. This dynamic pianist, composer, teacher,
and performer was born in Boston, MA in 1947, and before his second birthday had learned to conduct the
William Tell Overture while standing before the family phonograph.