Introducing Dr. J!!!

The (future) has been dropped and her name is officially Dr. J! Jenny (wife) presented her last dissertation recital for (French) horn performance last Saturday. Her dissertation defense was this morning and the committee signed off. The signing off by her committee is when the degree (and title Dr.) was officially conferred.

The defense was pretty cool because I got to sit in for it. It lasted about an hour with Jenny presenting a summary of her dissertation topic (Works for the Horn by American Women Composers) including her likes/dislikes, challenges encountered, and relevance of the topic. After that, the committee members all asked questions and Jenny answered.

Watching Jenny speak so confidently about her topic really impressed me. She definitely knew the ins and outs of all the pieces and their composers, which I think is the real intent of the defense from the committee's perspective. One aspect that became clear to me through the committee's questions is that the dissertation is the beginning of something bigger (who knew? I thought it was the end).

There were pointed questions regarding what the next step is for: Jenny, the works played, and future recordings. There was discussion about why her topic was chosen other than Jenny being a woman. Exposure is a big hurdle, especially a lack of recordings, for composers when trying to get their works played.

Jenny did a great job. I'm impressed and will be proud to call her Dr. J!