Ian Stripling Jenson has established a multifaceted teaching and performing presence along the Front Range and in Michigan. Ian holds current positions with the Cheyenne Symphony and Greeley Philharmonic and regularly performs with the Fort Collins Symphony and Longmont Symphony. Ian has previously performed with ensembles including Lansing Symphony, Jackson Symphony, Ann Arbor Symphony, Adrian Symphony, Orchestra Sono, Michigan Philharmonic, Oakland Symphony, Warren Symphony, the Urban Art Orchestra, and the Unison Chamber Music Collective. He has also had the privilege of performing alongside non-classical artists including Big Sean, T-Pain, and Gucci Mane. Ian has performed for major figures including Governors Gretchen Whitmer and Andy Beshear, Senator Debbie Stabenow, and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. His notable engagements have included performances at the Detroit Renaissance Center, Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit Opera House, Carnegie Hall, Cape Town City Hall, Soweto’s historic Regina Mundi Church, and the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Ian has performed internationally, with recent concerts in Canada, South Africa, Italy, and the Netherlands.

Ian maintained a private teaching studio during his time in Michigan and held a faculty position at the University of Michigan’s prestigious precollege program, where he taught alongside the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance’s collegiate faculty members. He also provided no-cost instruction through the Michigan Success Through Readiness program, which coordinates group lessons for local students at underserved elementary and middle schools in Ann Arbor. Ian is currently a Teaching Artist for the Mas Música program run through the Greater Boulder Youth Orchestra, providing twice-weekly lessons to students at Pioneer Elementary in Lafayette, and provides private instruction through the Parlando School of Musical Arts in Boulder.

Ian graduated magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance and Political Science. He went on to earn Master of Music degrees in Violin Performance and Chamber Music at the University of Michigan. Ian is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Musical Arts at CU Boulder under Alex Gonzalez. Ian’s former primary instructors include Dr. Pasha Sabouri, Dr. Stephen Miahky, and Fabiola Kim; he has also worked closely with many other leading violin pedagogues including Paul Kantor (Rice University), Naoko Tanaka (Juilliard), Jinjoo Cho (Northwestern University), Takashi Shimizu (Tokyo University of the Arts), Simon James (San Francisco Conservatory), and Almita Vamos (Roosevelt University). During his undergraduate years, Ian pursued secondary instrumental studies in viola and historical performance under Dr. Christina McGann and Dr. Maria Romero, respectively.

Ian has studied and performed at the Aspen Music Festival, International Holland Music Sessions, Maine Chamber Music Seminar, Encore Chamber Music Festival, Sounding Point Academy, Center Stage Strings, Texas Strings Festival, Trentino Music Festival, and the Chautauqua Institution. As the recipient of the Texas Cultural Trust’s Young Master Grant in 2018 and a representative for the Art Can campaign, Ian has been a lifelong advocate for expanded funding for the performing arts in his home state of Texas. Having taken part in the 2022 Brevard Project, Ian is a strong proponent of the diversification of the American classical music canon and the programming of historically marginalized composers.