As a pianist and cellist, Jenny Thomas (1987) first stumbled upon the fortepiano at the age of 17, and instantly fell for its nuanced and intimate expressive capabilities. The historic organ followed closely, and was received with equal enthusiasm. Jenny reluctantly added harpsichord to this grouping and became the first student of the Bachelor of Music in Early Keyboards at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Following her graduation in June 2009, Jenny moved to Amsterdam with the assistance of the Huygens, Kiwi Music and Anne Bellam scholarships to continue her studies with Menno van Delft, Jacques van Oortmerssen, and Richard Egarr. In June 2014 Jenny completed her Master’s degree in basso continuo and ensemble direction with Therese de Goede at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.
Jenny is also an active musicologist; she has recently completed a Master of Musicology at the University of Auckland, and is soon to undertake doctoral study. Her area of interest is the interaction between text and music in the sacred vocal works of late 17th century Lutheran composers. In September 2014, Jenny received the Prize for Best Student Presentation at the STIMU symposium in the Festival of Oude Muziek, Utrecht.
With the intention of performing this repertoire on the basis of her research findings, Jenny founded the ensemble Inventio in 2012.
