Jen Hajj

Jen Hajj

jenhajj@yahoo.com

Website: www.jenhajj.com

   348 East Hubbard Avenue, Salt Lake City, UT, 84111

Jen Hajj has a voice you will not forget. Jen made an early connection with composition as a child, noticing that music notation wasn't just for interpreting what other people created, but it could be used to express her own musical ideas. She took her first composition to her piano teacher, who played through the poorly notated piece, and gently introduced music theory into Jen's instruction. This is where her songwriting began. She moved to Utah in the mid-1980's where her musical career began to take shape, singing with various choirs (school, professional and semi-professional groups) and moving her way into the church music scene. While working with various churches, she rediscovered her desire to write her own music. She entered music school and studied vocal performance and composition. Jen was excited to gain theoretical knowledge and improved with the required daily keyboarding practice, but the daily choral and vocal practice left her hoarse and breathless. She made the difficult decision to quit choral conducting and dropped out of opera school. While she was at a local music shop to buy her first guitar, Jen met Tony Polychronis, the host of the local bluegrass radio show. Not knowing her at all, he invited her to assist with his show and later with his summer folk music festival. Later, she inherited the radio show and still spins bluegrass from 2-5 every Sunday afternoon, except when she is touring. For Jen, being a part of the folk music scene is like coming home. She hopes that when you hear her sing, that you feel it, too.