APRIL 30 – MAY 1, 2026
The LVC Jazz Program concludes another successful artist residency. This spring, trumpet extraordinaire Ingrid Jensen came to LVC to work with LVC students, LVC Jazz Faculty, and the high school students who participate in LVC’s annual Jazz Invitational.
The residency began with a Thursday morning Masterclass, open to students and members of the community. Jensen, a phenomenal player, didn’t just stop at impressing those in attendance with beautiful tone and piercing high notes, but went beyond the music to talk about the fundamental principles that a great performance is based on.
I assume hearing some of the most beautiful trumpet playing you’ve ever heard in your life, while a comprehensive anatomical diagram of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system and its various functions is on the screen, was a new experience for most of those in attendance at the masterclass. Jensen got everyone out of their seats immediately with some stretching and breathing exercises as she explained the importance of good posture and finding a balance in your body. Tension, the enemy of a natural, comfortable performance, begins as soon as the musician loses coordination between brain and body.
Jensen offered this mantra for centering oneself before practice:
“My brain is in my body. My body is my brain.”
In the middle of the masterclass, Jensen stopped to rearrange the instruments, bringing all of the performers closer and explaining her distaste for the term “soloist.” No action is truly individual, supported by countless seen and unseen factors, both past and present.
That night, Ingrid Jensen joined the Valley Jazz Orchestra for their semester concert. The ensemble performed a combination of tunes by Ingrid Jensen, her sister Christine Jensen, and LVC composition professor Dr. Justin Morell.
The following night, Jensen joined LVC’s Valley X-Tet in concert, capping off her residency with a performance of exceptional quality, supported by LVC’s Jazz Faculty. Stay tuned for information on events and artists-in-residence to come for the 2026-2027 academic year. Check out more from Valley X-Tet on Spotify or Bandcamp.
Find more about Ingrid Jensen at her website and get connected on Instagram.
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