Brian Jennings

2025 Betsy L. Kent Concerto Competition Winner, College Division

Born in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Brian Jennings began his musical and viola studies at age 11. As a founding member of the Prometheus Quartet, Brian has performed around the world, including performances at Schiermonikoog, the McGill International String Quartet Academy, the Mariposa Concert Series, and the New Series at The Juilliard School. With Prometheus Quartet, Brian has collaborated with artists such as Jeremy Denk, Andy Akiho, Claire Chase, and Sasha Cooke. Before forming the Quartet, Brian has attended The Taos School of Music, The Aspen Music Festival and School, The Bowdoin International Music Festival, Red Rocks Chamber Music Festival, and Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival. 

Brian is passionate about community engagement and music education. During his studies at The Juilliard School, he participated in every community engagement fellowship the school offered, including the Music Advancement Program Viola Fellowship, Morse Teaching Fellowship, and Gluck Fellowship. The teaching fellowships gave Brian the opportunity to connect with and mentor young musicians of The Juilliard PreCollege division and New York City Public School System. The Gluck Fellowship allowed Brian to connect with new audiences in New York City through exciting programming and audience engagement activities.

 As a student, Brian has had the privilege to work with musicians Maria Lambros, Michael Kannen, Gerhard Schulz, Richard Oniell, Matthieu Herzog, Mai Motobuchi, Jeffrey Irvine, Matthew Lipman, James Dunham, Che-Yen Chen, Cynthia Phelps, Choong-Jin Chang, and Ben Ullery. Brian received his undergraduate degree in Viola performance from The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, where he studied with Victoria Chiang and his Masters at The Juilliard School, where he studied with Heidi Castleman and Misha Amory. Currently, Brian is at the University of Delaware with the Prometheus Quartet as the Graduate String Quartet in Residence, where he studies with the Calidore String Quartet.