The best place to find Jennifer Reason is at a piano or microphone. Reason figures she’s played for “pretty much everyone at every place in town.”
She recently finished an artist residency at The Jacquelyn club, where she assists with shows. She’s a regular at Fleming’s Steakhouse in Roseville.
A musical theater expert, Reason is in the pit at Broadway at Music Circus shows, including the upcoming “White Christmas” in December, part of the company’s first year-round season.
She performs with the Sacramento Preparatory Music Academy’s The Beatles Guitar Project, where hundreds of students and professional musicians tour the state.
There’s more. Reason performs at dozens of festivals. A conductor once phoned to ask if she could be in London in 48 hours to record at Abbey Road Studios.
“There are so many places I wouldn’t get to go but for music,” Reason says. “You get to discover so many amazing places and groups of people that are invigorated by art in different, passionate ways. It’s my favorite part of what’s come of this career.”
The career started early. She gave her first piano recital at age 5 and was playing professionally for a Baptist church by age 12. Encouragement came from her mother who taught piano.
Gifted with talent, Reason still needed hard work and practice—often at her mother’s insistence—to master 88 keys.
While a high school student in Fairfield, Reason came to study piano with Professor Richard Cionco at Sacramento State.
She’s been employed ever since. Reason founded several ensembles, served as artistic director of the group RSVP and is founding music director of Rogue Music Project, a collective specializing in fringe opera and classical music.
You can hear Reason’s voice as Midday Classical host on Capital Public Radio. The job is an example of the “weird life left turns” that typify her career.
“I had done an interview on Insight for a concert with one of my ensembles and they called me a week after and said, ‘We really liked your voice¬—want a radio show?’ And I said no! I was so busy teaching and performing full time. Then they called me a week after that and said, ‘Are you sure?’ They needed a sub at first, then it built into my own show. I will never not be incredibly grateful.”
Reason enjoys sharing her expertise. She serves on several committees, including the Arts & Culture committee for Impact100 Greater Sacramento. For the past four years, she’s served as a governor-at-large at the Recording Academy, which carries a Grammy Awards vote.
Reason teaches several high school students intent on musical careers. She finds the work “truly inspiring. It feeds my soul. It’s a responsibility like no other to be trusted with something like that.”
At day’s end, Reason heads home to her two French bulldogs and partner Justin Barnes, a professional drummer. She gives her hands an ice bath.
“You have to treat playing the piano like an athlete,” Reason says. “Richard used to say, if you’re playing the piano right, it’s a full-body sport.”
For information, visit jennifer-reason.com.
Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
