Jennifer Torrence is an Oslo-based percussionist/performer working internationally as a soloist, chamber musician, collaborative artist, improviser, composer, and artistic researcher. She is a member of the experimental percussion trio Pinquins. Much of her artistic practice over the last decades has been built upon deep collaborative processes with composers and other artists, resulting in a body of work that, in various ways, stretches the roles of the performer/percussionist.
She is Associate Professor of Percussion at the Norwegian Academy of Music and a percussion tutor at Darmstadt Summer Course. From 2026-2030 she will conduct post-doctoral research at NMH with the project, "From the Collective".
HIGHLIGHTS OF 2025 SEASON
Solo appearances at: Ultima Festival (Norway), Tectonics (Scotland), Darmstadt (Germany), Kalv Festival (Sweden), MINU (Denmark), Riverrun (France), Blow out! (Norway), and others, see events for details.
Concerto appearances with: BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Norwegian Radio Orchestra
Pinquins appearances at: Kalv Festival (Sweden), Blow out! (Oslo), Riverrun (France), nyMusikk (Norway)
Summer tutoring: at Darmstadt (Germany); Bodø Beat (Norway), and Time of Music Festival Summer Academy (Finland)
Collaborations on new work with composers/artists: Øyvind Torvund, Clara Iannotta, Kari Watson, Jo David Lysne, Jessie Marino, Sara Glojnaric, Ase Brunborg Lie, Martin Hirsti-Kvam, Kelley Sheehan, Fredrik Storsveen, Janne-Camilla Lyster, Sam Salem, Weston Olencki, Natali Abrahamsen Garner
Artistic research in the projects Post-percussion pedagogies (Norwegian Academy of Music)
Jennifer is a former principal percussionist of the Arctic Philharmonic (2011-2015), former artistic research fellow (PhD) at the Norwegian Academy of Music with the project Percussion Theatre: a body in between (2015-2018), former curator at nyMusikk (2023-2024), former Fulbright scholar (UK 2009-2010).
Originally from the US, she studied at the Oberlin Conservatory (with Mike Rosen), the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (with Richard Benjafield), and University of California San Diego (with Steven Schick).