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Jennifer Jester, a graduate student in UCLA’s music department, has been playing a variety

Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. Well, not always. Jennifer Jester, a graduate student studying the euphonium at UCLA, puts this aphorism to shame.

At the age of 3, Jester started playing on her mother’s piano. Though the piano dominated her earlier years, she began playing the flute and the euphonium, a type of brass instrument, in school band. Eventually, she focused on brass and studied the euphonium at both Arizona State University and California Institute of the Arts.

Though juggling is one of the few performance arts she does not do – she sings, dances, and plays a plethora of instruments – Jester has managed to effectively manage her time between performing and her other passion, teaching.

“I love teaching. It’s definitely something I want to do later on,” she said.

Currently, Jester is a teaching fellow for the general education cluster course “Inside the Performing Arts: Interdisciplinary Explorations of Performance in Society and Culture,” which focuses on music, theater and dance. Though the class contains a heavy load of reading and writing, Jester’s comprehensive theatrical expertise allows her to add an element of hands-on learning that is missing from many classes at UCLA.

“I just did a big drum lesson with the freshman cluster course,” Jester said. “We talked about their midterms and then I taught them some Brazilian things and African songs and dances.”

The course covers a varied range of subjects dealing with theater arts, and Jester’s interest and experience in music is similarly diverse. She has performed in salsa bands, written new wave euphonium compositions, and facilitated African drum circles for children. In addition, she loves jazz and traditional Balkan brass music. Jester’s many passions fuel yet simultaneously relax the classroom atmosphere.

“I have a little acting background, so with that, along with the dancing and music, I can supplement what (my students are) learning. We just did ‘The Bacchae’ by Euripides so I was able to do workshop-type things with that,” Jester said.

“With the music, I introduce them to different types of music and have them try it. These are science majors so it’s cool because I can bring in all my experience and open their eyes to a new world.”

While Jester hopes to continue teaching college students, her musical passion transcends age boundaries. In addition to performing for children in interactive drum circles, she teaches musician empowerment workshops which concentrate on setting goals, intelligently dealing with the business elements of being a musician, and, strangely enough, teaching acting skills.

“A lot of times musicians learn their craft – they know how to play the piano well – but there’s some elements that are missing just as far as personal expression. Acting is huge,” Jester said. “If you talk to any pop singers and ask them how they learn to sing, or the fact that many actors become singers, this draws attention to the show element. I think it’s kind of overlooked a lot.”

As a teacher, Jester takes a proactive interest in shattering the dichotomy between teacher and student by getting students to participate. She said she is a strong believer in experiencing, rather than just learning, about theater.

This hands-on approach stems from her performing experiences. Jester said she believes the performer, like the teacher, has a responsibility to engage his or her audience to interact.

“I think there is a correlation between doing and being interested” she said. “I have a passion for audience participation.”

Although Jester’s hands-on approach to teaching has proven successful, she is currently looking for more ways to engage audiences during theatrical performances.

“I think that recitals as we know them and concerts as we know them are going downhill, and I’m really interested in how can we get people more interested and involved,” Jester said.

“In my dissertation, I am going to look at a lot of things, like the Blue Man Group. They do a ton of audience participation in their (performances). I am looking at elements of those and why they work and how they work and why people like them.”

As a serious performer who wants to teach, Jester’s concerns as a performer complement her fresh method of teaching. Whether she is instructing or performing, Jester said her intention is to make sure everyone else is getting something out of the experience.

“Anyone can move. It’s really about lowering people’s inhibitions,” Jester said. “Instead of having them sit in the back with (their) arms crossed, it’s about getting them to want to try it.”