Jennifer Shackleton

A Louisville native, violist Jennifer Shackleton has been a member of the Louisville Orchestra since 1997. Ms. Shackleton attended Oberlin College where studied both viola performance (BM) and music education (BM) under Stacy Yates, Virginia Schneider, Christine Rutledge, Jeffrey Irvine, and Lynne Ramsey. Ms. Shackleton has enjoyed a varied career as a violist performing in a wide variety of ensembles and teaching.  She has collaborated in chamber settings with the Kentucky Chamber Players, Ceruti Chamber Players, Highland Chamber Players, Commonwealth String Quartet, University of Louisville Faculty String Trio, Bach Society, and Louisville Master Chorale.  She has held teaching positions at the Oberlin College Preparatory Music Department, Kentuckiana Music Institute, Louisville Academy of Music and as an interim viola instructor at the University of Louisville.

Ms. Shackleton is an avid greenhouse gardener and runs a business growing herbs in her greenhouse, gardening, and making herbal soap that is nourishing to the skin. She specializes in medicinal and culinary herbs at “Bearcamp Botanicals” and offers bedding plants, annuals, perennials, and herbs, as well as mums and poinsettias through retail and wholesale.  She enjoys volunteering at Bernheim Forest in the Naturalist in Training program, The Tracker School. He favorite musical artist is Michael Bublé and her favorite composer is J.S. Bach.  The most interesting aspect of being a musician, in Ms. Shackleton’s opinion, is “Meeting all kinds of interesting people and other artists plus having friends all over the world.” Her advice for young musicians comes from Stan Slap, “Wake up. Wipe the drool from your desk, and say Hi to reality.”