Jennifer Tibben-Lembke
Jennifer Tibben-Lembke is currently a member of the faculty at the University of Nevada, Reno, serving as Interim Director of Choral Activities and as a voice instructor. She received her MM in Vocal Performance from UNR in May 1997. She received her BA from Gustavus Adolphus College, May 1992, with majors in music and biology. She was a member of the Gustavus Choir, serving as frequent soloist and soprano section leader. Before moving to Reno, she sang professionally with the James Chorale in Chicago.
Jennifer is the Artistic Director and conductor of Bella Voce, a select community women’s choral ensemble. She has received a Sierra Arts Foundation grant for her work as conductor of Bella Voce. She conducts the adult choir at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd. She began as chorus director for the Reno Philharmonic Chorus in June, 2007. Their inaugural performance was met with great accolades, including a comment from the Philharmonic Conductor, Barry Jekowsky, that “this is the best prepared chorus I have had in Reno!”
Opera roles include Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute), the Lawyer (Trial by Jury), Suor Angelica (Suor Angelica), and Susannah (Susannah) and Mrs. Gobineau (The Medium) with UNR Lyric Opera, as well as Sister Genevieve (Suor Angelica) with Nevada Opera. She was a guest artist for the 2001 Nevada Opera Fireworks concert. She has also served as soloist with the Reno Chamber Orchestra for Bach’s B Minor Mass and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. With the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra she has sung the part of Paquette in Candide and served as the soprano soloist for Carmina Burana and as a guest soloist for additional concerts. In the spring of 2005 she performed a solo vocal recital at UNR, sang as a featured soloist with the Carson City Symphony and the Reno Chamber Orchestra.
Ms. Tibben-Lembke is active in the American Choral Directors Association, and is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). In the summer of 2002, she was chosen to be one of twelve interns for the NATS Summer Intern Program, where she studied with Costanza Cuccaro. She was recently named a divisional winner for the NATS Artists Award program. While at the University of MN for the Fall 2005 semester, she studied with Kathy Romey, John DeHaan and Clifton Ware. Jennifer is one of the founders of a new children's choir in the Reno area, the Sierra Nevada Children's Choir. Visit www.sierranevadachildrenschoir.org for more information. She and her husband Ron live in Reno with their two delightful children, Grace (10) and Noah (7).
