Music

“I immediately listened to “Sweet Child of Mine.” Guns N’ Roses was a big part of my teen years. I had to hear how you covered it,” I told her.

“Really? I didn’t even know who they were. Tchaikovsky was a big part of my teen years,” Grammy Award nominee Jenny Oaks Baker replied.

Classically-trained violinist Jenny Oaks Baker has recorded twelve different, beautiful, distinctly different albums.  And this newest album is by far the most distinct.

“Classic: The Rock Album” is not like any other violin album you’ve heard before. It’s not concertos, church music, or boring “classical stuff.” It’s the Beatles, Sting, R.E.M., and Guns N’ Roses. And trust me, it’s not wimpy, elevator music either. Don’t judge this album before you’ve heard it. There’s something for all ages on here, even if you think you don’t like “classical” music.

Yesterday 

Her new album (now available from Deseret Book and on Amazon) is ten epic classic rock songs with innately beautiful melodies, arranged expertly by famed composer and pianist Kurt Bestor. It’s the eleventh album Bestor and Baker have worked on together. And there’s no question about it, he knows how to write for her, and knows how to showcase her talents.

This new album may not be your typical Sunday listening, but best put in Baker’s words, it’s exuberant and full of joy. “It’s awesome for the rest of the week.” And she’s not wrong. They’ve selected songs such as “You are So Beautiful to Me” and “Stairway to Heaven,” and put in soaring violin solos that fly, spin, crescendo, and will leave you breathless.

You Are So Beautiful 

Her Own Person

Baker has evolved musically over her twelve albums. She’s gone from traditional concertos to Disney to Led Zeppelin. Don’t worry that she may have found fame and lost her religious, traditional roots. Far from it. Her focus has always been on the music. She credits her traditional, classical training for her ability to play the tricky runs of pop and rock music. The skills she’s honed after years of practice allow her to put the emotion and drama that make the violin cum electric guitar work so well. (If you want your children to stay in violin lessons, play them this album.)

She’s not just any violinist who managed to get an album. She’s a true talent, a natural. She began playing the violin at age four, and made her solo orchestral debut in 1983 when she was only eight years old. She received her Master of Music degree from the renowned Juilliard School in New York City and her bachelor’s degree in violin performance from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

Kashmir/Four Seasons 

She has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Strathmore Hall, the Library of Congress, as, and as a guest soloist with the Jerusalem Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Utah Symphony, the Orchestra at Temple Square, and the internationally acclaimed Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Over the years, Baker has collaborated with such notable names as Gladys Knight, Marvin Hamlisch, and the former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Jenny performed as a first violinist with the National Symphony Orchestra for seven years before resigning in 2007 to devote more time to her young family. Her albums collectively have sold more than a quarter-million copies. Her album Wish Upon a Star (a tribute to Disney tunes) earned a nomination for the 54^th Grammy Awards for Best Pop Instrumental Album.

 Jenny Oaks Baker performs “Baby Mine” with her daughter Hannah at the piano.

She admits it was hard to find a professional role model, who was also a wife and mother. She didn’t really have anyone she could look up to who had what she wanted. But she feels blessed that through a career in recording she has found the balance of what she wants. She’s able to practice at home, while she’s the mother to her young children. (And her husband can handle the children while she’s on-stage or in the recording studio.) “I’m grateful to Heavenly Father for the opportunity to share my talents and abilities, and to make it all happen so nicely for me later in life.”

Just for Fun

Whenever I interview musicians, actors, or anyone who has spent time on stage or in the public eye, I love to ask them one important question.

What’s the funniest thing to happen to you on stage?

Her answer didn’t disappoint.

“I was doing a series of shows with Kurt Bestor. I was wearing a face mike, going on and off stage a few times in a show.

“We did a lot of shows that week. At first I was careful to make sure I was quiet off-stage to make sure the mike didn’t pick anything up.

“But by the ninth show, I wasn’t as careful. The sound guy and I worked well together. And I trusted him to do his part. I was playing a really tough Christmas concerto. But I really rocked the song. When I left the stage I turned to the stage manager and said (really excitedly), “I was awesome! You gotta pay me more for that one!”

“Little did I know that at the same time the sound guy had knocked over a bottle of water on his board. Understandably he had rushed to save his equipment before turning off my mike. So my triumph was heard by everyone.”

Go check out “Classic: The Rock Album.” It’s epic, beautiful, and uplifting. It’s not your mother’s classical album, and it’s not your son’s rock CD either. It’s something exciting in the middle that will stir your soul, thrill the senses, and fill you with beautiful music, that will make you smile as you say, “Hey, isn’t this Guns N Roses?”

Sweet Child O’ Mine  

Erin Ann McBride is a writer, dreamer, and Mormon pop culture connoisseur.  By day she writes romantic novels like, “<a href="https://www.