Meet New ARS Board Member Jamie Allen

I am a composer and an avid recorder player, embracing everything from the medieval to the avant-garde. I've performed in venues as diverse as churches, brewpubs, and symphony halls, and have led recorder societies in Dallas, Rhode Island and online. These days I also perform regularly with the Boston Recorder Orchestra.
 
I started on the recorder as a child at a Suzuki school on the south side of Chicago. I came back to it after receiving a Master’s degree in composition because of my combined interests in modern music and early music which, in my mind, have a lot in common, as they both revel in the unknown and the experimental. When my own children were young, we home-schooled them for a bit and created a family quartet. It was during this time that I discovered the Texas Toot, which entirely rejuvenated my enthusiasm for the recorder, and it hasn't diminished an iota since.
 
Before moving to Rhode Island in 2020 I was asked to join the ARS board, an invitation which I gladly accepted, as I hadn't landed a new job yet. Now that I'm here, I have a full time job as the Senior Director of Operations for the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School, and co-chair the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee for the ARS board. I wear both hats (sometimes simultaneously) with great pride.