July 29 - Grand Finale-"Songs of the Americas"

Jennifer (Hainlen) Kirkman is a Howard County product having graduated from Eastern High School during the “Whorwell” years.  She earned  B.S. and M.S. degrees in Music Education from Indiana State University and pursued graduate-level studies in Bassoon Performance with Homer Pence at Ball State University.

After serving in the position as the music teacher at Western Intermediate School, she had to opportunity to return to Eastern as Assistant Band Director, a position she held for 15 years.  Mrs. Kirkman has also taught at Taylor University as an Adjunct Applied Music Instructor of Bassoon.

Jennifer is an avid chamber musician performing with the Mariah Wind Quintet for over 30 years.  During that time the quintet presented hundreds of educational programs in the Tippecanoe County school systems, participated in outdoor concerts for the Indiana State Parks series and performed numerous formal recitals in Lafayette, Kokomo, Culver and throughout central Indiana as well as Toledo, Ohio.  She has also performes with the Reeds and Ivory Trio and the Kokomo based Bach Trio with Trudy Whitford and Joan White.

She is a member of the Kokomo Symphony, Marion Philharmonic and the Kokomo Park Band where she serves on the Executive Committee.

After completing her career in public school education she completed a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Accounting at IUK and has been employed with the Kokomo Housing Authority since 2004.

Jennifer has recently been involved in the creation of the Whorwell Musicianship Fund as a way to pay tribute to Eastern’s legendary former band director, Charles Whorwell and to support Eastern’s band program for years to come.

She continues to maintain a private woodwind studio and resides in Kokomo with her husband, Larry Kirkman.