Stockton Symphony Association

Making sweet music: Flutist Jennifer Olson's varied career keeps her busy, happy

Nov 19

Jennifer Olson sounded excited.

"I played in a movie that comes out today," the Stockton Symphony's principal flutist said. "It's called '2012.' Go see it."

Tonight, about a week after the "2012" debut, she'll join Motoshi Kosako, the orchestra's first harpist, to perform the solo sections of Mozart's Concerto for Flute and Harp at San Joaquin Delta College's Atherton Auditorium.

The 70-member orchestra also will play Peruvian Jimmy Lopez's "Techno," a three-minute selection from his "Fiesta," and Brahms' Symphony No. 2 in D major.

The "Serenade for the Soul" program will be performed again Saturday night.

Olson's see-and-hear advice succinctly sums up the 32-year-old Lodi High School graduate's career path.

"It just kind of happens," Olson said of her busy, diverse and intriguing schedule. "I didn't really know where to go. It's always hard to figure out the next step. It's just trial and error. I think I got lucky."

Jaffe politely demurred.

"She's a fabulous principal flute player," he said. "We're delighted to have her. She has a terrific sense of independence and elegant ambition. She has a wonderful kind of silvery, sweet tone, and a wonderful sense of phrasing and musicianship. It's a pleasure to hear her play."

Others obviously agree.

Olson, a graduate of California State University, Stanislaus, and University of Southern California, also plays second flute in the Long Beach Symphony and the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra. She's performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Los Angeles Opera and the Westchester Symphony.

Then there's "2012."

"Oh, I don't know," Olson said from her La Crescenta home, fatigued after a four-hour union negotiating session with the Long Beach Symphony. "I'm kind of in the same sort of thing. I keep taking auditions. I'm playing on film scores. It's kind of fun. I have a varied career. So I want to keep on doing what I do."

Besides "2012" - and thanks to Hollywood connections she made at USC - Olson also has played on film soundtracks for "Night at the Museum 2," "Caprica" (a "Battlestar Galactica" prequel), "Rest Stop 1 and 2," "Avatar" and James Horner's score for the upcoming "When in Rome."

She's released a CD ("Jenny Olson Scott") of "chamber music works mostly by L.A. composer friends and colleagues who have written or arranged for me."

Olson also plays on studio recordings for "a lot of up-and-coming L.A. singer-songwriters. I can't remember their names. I forget to write them down," and "some TV shows I can't really remember."

Her memory will be very acute when she shares the spotlight with Kosako tonight.

"It's a long concerto," she said of the 30-minute composition that's the only one Mozart wrote (1778) for flute and harp. "It's easier having the harp, so I'm not playing alone all of the time."

She's been rehearsing more to build stamina for her first full Stockton Symphony solo role.

"I haven't done a flute-harp concerto, but I've done other concertos," Olson said. "We've been rehearsing for a year. It'll be fun. It's a beautiful piece of music."

"I thought it would be a great piece to do," Jaffe said. "It's a little bit of a novelty. I like to have elegant variety overall."

Kosako, 39, who was born in Matsuyama City, Japan, and lives near Roseville, will provide plenty of that on his 47-string instrument.

"Motoshi's an amazing talent," Jaffe said of the former medical student and psychiatric nurse. "He's a trailblazing crossover musician who also plays jazz harp. He's a dynamite talent."

"In a sense, I need to have accuracy," said Kosako, who wants to become the "Miles Davis of the harp.' "Like clockwork. Very accurate. Mozart's piece is not really forgiving. If it's wrong or right, it's so obvious."

Born in Honolulu, Olson grew up in Campbell and other communities ("more than it's worth writing about") before moving to Woodbridge as an eighth-grader.

Olson discovered one of her aunt's old high school flutes in an attic. It was the "only instrument I'd ever heard."

She began playing in sixth grade and carried on in Lodi High's marching band and the Central Valley Youth Symphony and by winning the symphony's Manlio Silva scholarship.

Although "technically" in eighth grade, she played a small role in a symphony performance of the "Pied Piper Fantasy," a concerto for flute and orchestra.

"I really didn't how to do it," said Olson, who enrolled at Stanislaus State, where Caryl Mae Scott, a longtime symphony flutist, was one of her mentors. "But it kind of all fell into place. I just wanted to be a teacher. I got my master's (degree) at USC and a doctorate in flute performance. It just kind of happened."

In 2005, she came "home" to seize a rare opportunity.

Getting a chance to play flute in an orchestra is tough. Jaffe said surveys show there are more flutes produced than any other instrument.

"You can't always plan when these auditions will be," Olson said. "You have to be at the right place at the right time."

She definitely was when Scott left her principal flute role with the symphony after 57 years. "Caryl Mae called and told me she was retiring," Olson said. "I decided to audition and see what happened."

Olson passed the test, during which musicians performed behind a screen to avoid bias.

"They definitely did not know who I was until after I won the job," Olson said. "Once they saw I was living in L.A., they were skeptical about how much of a commitment I would make or how long I would last. Would they need another audition the next year?"

No. In her first season, she played a solo during Bach's Brandenburg Concerto and has been an integral part of the orchestra since.

Olson, who leads a flute master class at 5 p.m. Friday at University of the Pacific, won't be as prominent in Lopez's "Techno," a spicy "rev-up," Jaffe said. "It's kind of like a samba with bongos and conga drumming," reminiscent of "West Side Story."

The 40-minute Brahms symphony (1877) is a "real masterpiece, a sweet pastoral with a stirring finale," Jaffe said.

Those adjectives fit Olson's style, too.

"Just getting to play in a symphony is an amazing opportunity," said Jaffe, 52, in his 14th season as conductor.

"There are definitely a lot of really great flute players out there," Olson said. "You have to work harder and be a little lucky. It's luck and hard work."

Contact Tony Sauro at (209) 546-8267 or tsauro@recordnet.com.