Called to Create: An LDSPMA Podcast

Jenny Oaks Baker

March 16, 2022 LDSPMA/Jenny Oaks Baker Season 2 Episode 4
Called to Create: An LDSPMA Podcast
Jenny Oaks Baker
Show Notes Transcript

Dubbed ‘America’s Violinist’ for the magic of her artistry, Jenny Oaks Baker is a Grammy nominee and Billboard No. 1 recording artist who knows the thrill of soloing at Carnegie Hall. A devoted wife and mother of four children, Jenny has experienced highs and lows in her life and career but has always trusted God to guide her. “I knew I needed to work really hard, stay very close to the Spirit and do what is right, and everything would work out.”

 
YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/JennyOaksBaker

     “Free At Last Medley” with Condoleezza Rice (March 4th) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veYkOvsYGjU

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=jenny%20oaks%20baker

Twitter https://twitter.com/jennyoaksbaker

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jennyoaksbaker/

Jenny Oaks Baker’s Music: iTunes, Spotify, Deseret Book

Jenny’s website
https://www.jennyoaksbaker.com/

Connie Sokol: [00:00:00] Welcome back I'm Connie. Sokol, your host of the LDSPMA podcast, Called to Create, and we are thrilled to have our beautiful and distinguished guest today. Jenny Oaks Baker. Hi Jenny. 

Jenny Oaks Baker: Hi, it's great to be here. 

Connie Sokol: You are a delight. And already, before we started recording this, I've just, she's like your neighbor, best friend, mom that you just met. 

Connie Sokol: Like, I could just sit down and have a cup of cocoa with her, I can tell already. Lest I forget how prestigious she is, and she would not say, we're going to do the official bio and let you know just how amazing she is. Jenny Oaks Baker is known as “America's Violinist” and for good reason. She is a Grammy-nominated Billboard #1 performer and recording artist.

Connie Sokol: She received her Master of Music degree from the renowned Juilliard School in New York City, and I cannot wait to talk to you about that. And she has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Library of Congress, and also with various renowned symphonies, the National Symphony Orchestra, and also the internationally acclaimed and beloved The Tabernacle Choir at Temple [00:01:00] Square.

Connie Sokol: She has released 18 albums, and they have sold over a million copies, and she consistently charts on the Billboard. And she also has a YouTube channel with nearly 10 million viewers. This woman is incredible. But meanwhile, her and her husband, Matthew have raised four children, and Jenny Oaks travels with them as “Jenny Oaks Baker & Family Four”. Move over Maria von Trapp!

Connie Sokol: It is the 21st century, and I love this. So let's go back to the very beginning, a very good place to start, a little nod there to The Sound of Music, because you also did beautiful work on that. Where did this begin? I know that you began the violin at four. You had your first orchestral solo at eight, but did you, like, just walk into a room and go, The violin, there is my future, or was it just a mom being, like, Hey, I want my kids to learn some instruments. Here, take one. Start. How did this begin for you? 

Jenny Oaks Baker: Well, I mean, I think the Lord never just gives us the big picture. I'm a control freak, so I would love the Lord to just send over, you know, Amazon with my life plan and I would read [00:02:00] it over, and I would make plans, and I would know what was going to happen the rest of my life, every moment.

Jenny Oaks Baker: That would be my happy place, but that's not the way the Lord works. And so, I’d just started violin. My mom, we went to a concert that one of my siblings was in. He was in the Mormon Youth Symphony, which became the Orchestra at Temple Square. And there was some little violinists there. My mom had…I had some older sisters that had played the violin.

Jenny Oaks Baker: All my siblings are 13 years and up older than I am. There’s a 13 year gap, but I have some sisters that play the violin. And my mom just said to me, do you want to play the violin? She'd never seen these little, they were little teeny performers on the violin. She'd never seen this ‘cause the Suzuki Method was new.

Jenny Oaks Baker: It was new to America at the time. And, so, I said, Sure. So, we started with violin lessons when I was four, but it was never like my mom thought, I'm going to raise a little violinist. And I never thought, I'm going to be a violinist, until I started performing a little bit. And with the Suzuki Method you start [00:03:00] performing from…

Connie Sokol: Right out!

Jenny Oaks Baker: Yeah. So I really liked performing. I honestly liked performing, and it didn't really matter if it was music or dance or anything. I just love performing. But I could see that I had a talent, and my mom could see I had a talent for violin, kind of from day one. And so she kind of pushed me. And one by one I’d choose violin over piano, and I’d choose violin over dance, I’d choose it over art.

Jenny Oaks Baker: I’d choose it over gymnastics. I mean, I was doing all these things, and so violin just kind of won out over everything. I mean little step-by-step when my parents… They also got me the best teachers, which was really instrumental in enabling me to reach my potential. And I practiced really hard.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And then they bought me the nicest violin they could afford. And then, I mean, little stuff. And I got a patriarchal blessing, and, so, that talked a little bit about music, a lot, actually. It's a pretty remarkable blessing. So, little steps. And then I got into [00:04:00] the Curtis Institute of Music, which is one of the world's best music schools. But I always was going to go to BYU. I knew that that would be more fun, and it would've been A LOT more fun.

Connie Sokol: Yes. I went. It was.

Jenny Oaks Baker: Yeah. I mean, my daughter went to BYU, and I'm, like, Yeah, our college experience was very different, so different. Anyway, so when I got into Curtis, I decide, you know, Do I really want to go this route? This is kind of… You gotta be all in. And so choosing to go to Curtis was another little, I guess I'm going to be a violinist.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And then when I was a few years in, I had the opportunity to buy a very nice instrument, and the Lord really placed it in my hands, but then I financially had to be completely committed, ‘cause I was signing away my financial future to buy this violin, ‘cause I didn't have money to buy a violin.

Jenny Oaks Baker: So, at that point, I had to really know that, I guess, this is my life. It’s what I'm going to do. 

Jenny Oaks Baker:  There are some careers that just, like, overnight, they become a sensation. My career has not. I just had these little baby steps, baby step to a career, baby step to a career. That's the way the Lord works in my life. And I am grateful ‘cause it, I mean, it is what it is.

Connie Sokol: Well, I have heard from people who have been very successful who have said it is actually better to not be an overnight success because you're able to build and then sustain the success that does come so that you can handle it better.

Connie Sokol: And I love seeing this path that you've had: your interest, parents noticed it, supportive teachers, those mentors, and making those choices at each switch point along the way. How committed am I going to be to this? And I love, I know your dad has talked a lot about how much he loves when people do something very well and they do it to an [00:06:00] expert level. They do it to an expertise where people can really enjoy the fulfillment of that talent.

Connie Sokol:  So is there one mentor or one teacher out of all of them, which I know is a hard question, but is there one that really stuck out to you? And it doesn't mean they were the best, but just at some pivotal point that they really helped you in that switch point or helped you make a, sort of a, next important step for you in this, this line upon line.

Jenny Oaks Baker: Well. I want to talk about two incredibly impactful…. Well, first off the teacher I would say is Lenny Brouse. He was my teacher when I was 14 to 18, and he completely believed in me. And he was completely invested, and he is the one that really got me into Curtis, which is what got me into the very best teachers in the world and around the best players in the world, and those opportunities to just soak in music and creativity and artistry.

Jenny Oaks Baker: The fact that Lenny Brouse, [00:07:00] you know, took me under his wing and was so invested and so committed. And he still is, like, he helped us pick a cello for Sarah, our cellist daughter. He kind of checks in on me and sends me different things he sees about the violin.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And he's still a part of my life, and I'm so grateful to him. But, even more important than any…and I've had really good teachers. Every single teacher I've had has been just so phenomenal. I've been really blessed. But more important than even the teachers is, I just feel like God has been there and led me along.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And I feel like He…I mean, maybe I shouldn't say this, because I don't ever want to brag about my inspiration. I never want to brag about blessings, but I also am just so grateful that I can't help just talking about them all the time.

Connie Sokol: You can Ammon-like rejoice. Do it! Yes. We know it's just rejoicing in Him. 

Jenny Oaks Baker: I do. And I've never felt like I was supposed to have a manager. I've tried out a [00:08:00] manager, because I feel like it'd be easier if I just had a manager. And I’ve kind of gone trying to find one a few different times. I've never felt like I was supposed to, and doors never open and it just wasn't right. And I kind of feel like God is my manager. And I think God is all of our managers, if we'll let Him be. 

Jenny Oaks Baker: And He can do a better job with my career and my life than I can. And He can do a better job than anyone. He doesn't have ulterior motives. He is not in it for Himself. He's in it for humanity, you know, and He's in it for me. And as long as I'm doing what's right, He'll guide me.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And it's not comfortable all the time because I don't know where it's heading. I don't know what opportunities are gonna come through. But it just keeps me humble, and it keeps me grateful, and it keeps me grounded. And it also helps me to go, like, we just did a fireside in Malad, Idaho, my [00:09:00] kids and I. And I feel like that was a really impactful performance, and yeah, it'd be great to do the Hollywood Bowl.

Jenny Oaks Baker: I would love to go to Carnegie hall every week. And I would love to be soloing with Boston Pops. That would be amazing. But I feel like maybe what I did in Malad, Idaho on Sunday night probably affected more lives than if I went and performed Boston Pops tomorrow. And so I think the Lord cares more about Malad, Idaho, then He does maybe an audience that just wants to do something before dinner. Not that that's not important to…. 

Connie Sokol: Yes, and not demeaning that in any way, but there's that deeper breadth, the depth and breadth of when we are doing it for Him, it changes things, like Elder Uchtdorf talks about, by a few degrees.

Connie Sokol: It really does shift the gigs that we take or the direction that we go. It really does. I love that concept. And I've talked about that with some different people, of…Man, I really want to find a good business coach and feeling like, [00:10:00] Well, God is my business coach, and He’s helping me find those opportunities where I'm really going to impact the people He wants me to impact, not just trying to get 250,000 followers to sell soap.

Connie Sokol: I love this, and I love this idea of watching your life unfold. And I love how you said it keeps you grounded, and I would add tethered to Him, to the Savior's atonement. That He's the one that's magnifying. He's the one that's providing those opportunities. And you stay focused on that because in the media and in the entertainment world it can be easy to get off on strange roads.

Connie Sokol: And I love, I was going to ask you that question and you just answered it, that that's how you stay grounded. That's a beautiful segue into you went to Juilliard, New York, and you know, you're coming from Utah environment. You're going into New York City. I've been there. You walk up the subway and it just pulses with energy. 

Connie Sokol: And, wow! It just hits you right over the head. How was that experience for you both personally and as a musician? How [00:11:00] did that impact you being there? 

Jenny Oaks Baker: Well, my bigger culture shock was when I headed from Salt Lake City to Philadelphia. I went from Salt Lake City when I was 18 and I moved to Philadelphia and lived alone and went to Curtis, because at the time they didn't have a dorm and that was really hard. I was so lonely. It was so different. I was the only member of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints at my school.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And I mean, coming from a pretty sheltered upbringing, it was hard and it was lonely. It's the hardest thing I've ever done aside from losing my mom. But I felt like I knew it was what God wanted me to do. It was what I needed to do to reach my potential and to be able to do what He had in store for me.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And I knew there was something He wanted me to do with music. I didn't know what, I just knew I needed to go to Curtis. I needed to work really hard and I needed to stay very close to the Spirit and do what is right, and everything would work out. So I just worked really hard for four years, and it was lonely.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And it was hard.[00:12:00] And then I had to send my daughter Hannah off to school in London to do the same thing. I know how hard it is, but we have FaceTime and we have free calling and we have video calls, and I didn't have that. Our phone bill. I called my parents every night at 11:15. I’d get kicked out of school at 11 when they closed.

Jenny Oaks Baker: I'd walk home. I’d called my mom for a h every night. Our phone bill is over a thousand dollars a month. And they could never visit me. We couldn't afford for them to ever visit me, because we were spending all their extra money on phone calls, which kept me alive every day.

Jenny Oaks Baker: It was just so hard. Anyway. But after I survived Philadelphia, then I went to New York for my Master's. So by then, I was okay, Yeah, super acclimated to east coast and big city. So New York was easier than Philadelphia, honestly. And the singles ward’s really strong. And I was living at Lincoln Center, going to school at Juilliard, which is across the street from the church. So that church community was really [00:13:00] strong.

Jenny Oaks Baker: Plus I met my future husband the first week there. He was just there. It was a miracle. My whole life is just one series of miracles after another. He was just there interviewing for one week for a job. So he was finishing up at Utah State. 

Jenny Oaks Baker: So we met that Sunday, and then when he left a week later, we weren’t going to meet other people, which is a whole other story. It had to be, because my mom was dying of cancer and we needed to meet so that she could be there at our wedding before she died. Anyway, so New York was actually a ton easier, aside from losing my mom and getting married that first year. So it was a lot of changes in New York. 

Jenny Oaks Baker: So I was adjusting to this new life of losing my closest human relationship of my mother who I was extremely close to. And then Heavenly Father was so kind to me to give me a new sweet husband that kind of filled that void. And so that was New York to me.

Jenny Oaks Baker: It was losing my mom. She died right after my first year of Julliard, and I got married right before she died. And then the second year I was just a new [00:14:00] married, and then we moved. So, Juilliard and great, but it was more like life was happening.

Connie Sokol: And how beautiful that He prepared you with Philadelphia first, so you could acclimate to that kind of experience and then be able to navigate all the transitions that were awaiting you in New York City. If we can, let's talk for just a minute about the influence of your mom on you and your music. Is there anything that stands out to you? I'm sure there's so much, but is there anything that stands out to you about that?

Jenny Oaks Baker: Definitely. I'm super grateful that my mom raised me…As she was helping me understand music, she was really helping me understand God's role in my life, and, how if I was about to perform a concert and I was really nervous, I could pray for help. And she would give scriptures that would help giving me confidence to get up on stage.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And ‘if you are prepared, you need that fear’ or like ‘The Lord….’ There’s one about performance. ‘Do not perform anything save in [00:15:00] first place you shall pray unto the Father. He will consecrate thy performance that thy performance may be for thy soul. 

Jenny Oaks Baker: We'd always pray before performances. She would say, Would you like your father to give you a blessing? So my faith and my music was completely intertwined, and I've never suffered from performance anxiety.

Jenny Oaks Baker: I've just never had any big issues because I knew I could rely on the Lord. And sometimes I think I probably should have prepared a tiny bit more, but I just knew Heavenly Father would be there. And sometimes, He helped me learn lessons. So I didn't always play perfectly, and I still don't play perfectly, but it's also not my whole number one objective.

Jenny Oaks Baker: I mean, I try to play my best, but I know that, especially when my children were young, I knew Heavenly Father didn't want me to practice 10 hours a day, because He wanted me to change their diapers. And He wanted me to feed them and keep them alive and not neglect them. And so I would do as much as I possibly could.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And sometimes I'd hire a mother's [00:16:00] helper, cute young girl to come do the dishes and pick up their socks or whatever. But I always knew that He wanted me to work really, really hard and do my best and then rely on Him. I'm so grateful that my mom, I mean, all the sacrifices she made and my father's financial who paid for it, which I know how expensive lessons are and my husband does the same thing.

Jenny Oaks Baker: So, Dad was super supportive in all the ways he could be. He was super busy, but she was there every moment reminding me to practice, getting into my lessons, and then helping me to understand the Lord's will and how I could rely on Him.

Connie Sokol: That is so beautiful. And I've understood from others that were in different wards and stakes that you've been in, that he was at all the performances, and he would get so excited about it. That he's just so supportive.

Jenny Oaks Baker: He was so cute. He'll go like this, if I do really well.  Lately, he's so sweet, like, when he comes, almost all my performances lately. He’s said, [00:17:00] That's the best performance you've ever done. He keeps saying that. And I'm like, You said that last time, but I'm so glad he liked this one too. I think that's so cute that he keeps saying that. And I know he's sincere, ‘cuz my dad, he doesn't use hyperbole. He doesn't over exaggerate. And so I know, sincerely he… and maybe my performances are getting better and better. I hope so. Anyway, he just has always appreciated them. He probably would have said that, I don't know, maybe I've gotten better. 

Connie Sokol: I think it's a mix of both, because I know as a parent, as I've seen my kids getting older, I just relish and savor what they do more than what I did when they were younger. And I think that's an aging thing too, I think. But I love how supportive they have been and how much they have influenced what you have done and become.

Connie Sokol: And now, you know, let's segue into your own kids. That's just flowed right into your kids. And I remember you saying once that you were like, I did not plan to do this with my kids, and kind of that same thing for you where it wasn't [00:18:00] this master plan. Tell us how that kind of, you just fell into having, you know, performing Family Four. How did this come about?

Jenny Oaks Baker: Well, it was the same thing, just these little steps, these little choices, the Spirit just guiding you one step at a time. And I look back on it, and I just marvel because being able to perform with my children started…so, I'm 46. I started when I was four… so it started 42 years ago. So, I'm just so grateful that Heavenly Father inspired me to marry a man that would be supportive, that would have a job that could pay for it because it is so expensive, these music lessons. I just, I try not to think about it.

Connie Sokol: It's an investment. It’s an investment.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And I also, like, I just try to have my career pay for the music lessons. If my career can pay for the music lessons, I feel like I'm a success. And I started Laura, our oldest, on the violin cuz that's what you do with a four-year-old.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And then I started having, no, sorry, she was three years old. She was three. And then when Hannah was four, I didn't want them on the [00:19:00] same instrument to compete, because I didn't want Hannah playing the same instrument as Laura.

Jenny Oaks Baker:  And so I started Hannah on piano when she was four. And then I knew that someday, maybe they’d grow up and play something together. I just thought, Well, that'd be cute to have a little cellist with the violinist and the pianist, and those instruments go well.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And Sarah is just super dynamic and a big personality also, and I just thought she'd be a cute cellist. So I started her on cello when she was three. And then Matthew, I was like, well, They should be able to do, like, piano quartets. He should play the viola. Cuz he may want to do sports, so viola is good, cuz he can kind of get it on the side and still be super appreciated.

Jenny Oaks Baker: Cuz there's not a lot of really great violists. They tend anyway, there's some good violists and great violists. It's not as popular as violin. And so I was going to start him on violin, moved him to viola. But he just fought me like crazy as a three-year-old. I’d put the violin up, and he’d drop his arms. I’d put the violin up, and he’d drop his arms. And then I'd get them all situated, and then he’d collapse his legs

Jenny Oaks Baker:  And I was like, Oh my Gosh. Cuz my kids have all fought; they're all strong personalities, [00:20:00] but he just took the cake. And so after six months of trying the dumb violin with him, this little mini thing, he just threw it down, and he's, like, I'm a pianoist. And I'm like, okay, I guess you're not a violinist. I get it. I accept. 

Jenny Oaks Baker: So we already had a pianoist. And so, I'm like, well, what about guitar? So we just tried guitar, and Suzuki guitar is actually a really effective way of teaching little kids. And so, he really took to it. He didn’t fight it at all. So he's been playing guitar since he was four. 

Connie Sokol: So, he loves the guitar.. 

Jenny Oaks Baker: Yeah, he loves the guitar. Well, I mean, no kid loves to practice, but he loves it enough to practice. He does three hours a day, three and a half hours, and he's 15. So yeah, I guess he loves it.

Connie Sokol: Okay, I know people listening have this question and it's burning. How do you help and continue this practicing? Because so many moms will say, they did good for the first year or two, and then it was like sports, or whatever, got in the way. And there's just no way. How have you [00:21:00] done that with all four?

Jenny Oaks Baker: Well, how do you get your kids to brush their teeth? Do you care if your kids like to take a bath or shower? No. Do you care if they want to take out the garbage? No. So for me, music is just like, If you'd like to hang out with your friends this weekend, you need to get your practicing done.

Connie Sokol: So, it’s a skill, it's a life skill is what you're teaching them.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And, you have these lessons, you've committed to practice, and your lessons are expensive. You need to be ready. We have a concert whenever. You're supposed to practice two, three hours a day. So you do that  and then you can hang out with your friends. And they know, and they've been doing it since they were little, and their siblings have been doing it since they were little.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And they see their mom doing it. So they just understand that that's just part of life, and you just have to do it. And once they get to a certain age, a certain level, then they do it on their own. I don't say anything to Sarah. Sarah does four hours a day in addition to public school. And sometimes, of course, there's a math final, or they have a paper due, and it doesn't get done.

Jenny Oaks Baker: But at least if the goal [00:22:00] is four, you'll probably at least get two in on the really crazy days. But if your goal is 30 minutes, you might…you know… they know that that's just the way it is. 

Connie Sokol: Wow. And they have been amazing. And for all of them to perform together, how is it for you guys traveling? Have you found that it's brought the kids as siblings together closer?

Connie Sokol: I mean, normal, right?. There's the bickering, bantering, like, okay, we get it. But has it been a sort of a common bond or is it just kind of a, this is just their day job, they know this is what they do, and they have their own personal interests or whatever? Have you found some really sweet benefits from that?

Jenny Oaks Baker: Oh, completely. I think it's definitely brought us closer together. It's also made more fireworks in our family. We're all very big personalities. So, sometimes when we're rehearsing on stage, if people are in the audience, they, like, might freak out and think that they need to send in social services because I also am pretty real.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And so I'm not going to be like, [00:23:00][whispering] We’ll talk about this later. I mean, it’s, We’re going to talk about it right now and you're out of line and you just lost a hundred dollars. Because I pay my kids. If I'm paid, I pay them. I mean, not firesides and church concerts, nobody's paid, and you get to serve cause you like blessings and I like blessings. And did you enjoy having that blessing of having food on the table?

Jenny Oaks Baker: So, but if I'm paid, I pay my kids if they're performing with me. But if they're out of line and they're unprofessional, I can't really fire my son, because he's my son. But if he does anything that makes me so I would never hire that musician again. Like, I'm not going to rehearse that again, or, Why are we doing that again?

Jenny Oaks Baker: If he talks back to me and is disrespectful or says, I'm not going to do it again, it's a hundred dollars or it's $20. It depends on how much he's being paid. There was one concert I did last fall where he was just, he was on one. He didn't feel like being there.

Jenny Oaks Baker: Different kids have been rotten at different moments of their life, but usually around 14 to 16 is the difficult times. Anyway, he [00:24:00] said something like, You're… he called me a name. He was out of line and I said, you're a poor son, meaning…And I said, you just lost a hundred dollars, because he’d just been rotten, and somebody thought I meant, You're a bad son. And I didn't mean you're a bad son. You're a poor son, like, you just lost some money. So, like, theres moments when we're not looking that happy, but then like, it does definitely bring us together. 

Connie Sokol: You’re so great! I have to tell you all about this podcast is about being real. And I love that you shared that, because if anybody at a random time peeked in the window of our homes and saw the way that we spoke to our kids in those moments. [00:25:00] We're trying not to, but in those moments, and especially when you have that extra, you're doing performing, you're doing all these things. I just think this is so good for you to share so that we can be gentle with one another because creatives are listening. 

Connie Sokol: And there's that feel. I know Cheryl Lant talked about when she had nine kids, and she said she had had it, it was weeks and weeks of them being annoying and all day, this one day, it was just like, Ah, popcorn! And she was trying to get them to bed. And she just said, You get to bed right now! And she realized all the windows were open, and the neighbor never let her forget about that for years. For years, that was the way that they introduced themselves or introduced her or whatever.

Connie Sokol: I think this is great to bring this up, because women especially are listening. And this is one of the reasons why they hesitate to do things like this. is, If we can't do it perfectly and do it without error, without, you know, negative judgment, then we're not going to do it at all. And yet, look at all the good that you have done, the good for your family, the good in the music you've shared, the gospel that you shared through music.

Connie Sokol: I think it's fantastic. And I kind of want to [00:26:00] segue to that for a minute. You have had incredible collaborations, Kurt Bester, Marvin Hamlisch, Gladys Knight, Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State. Talk to us about how those, kind of, come about and what's that process like? 

Jenny Oaks Baker: Well, the Condoleezza Rice one was total, complete inspiration, both times, actually, which is the way everything works with me.

Jenny Oaks Baker: I mean, Heavenly Father is just so good, if I'm trying to do what is right, to give me ideas that He then helps come to pass. So, the Condoleezza Rice thing, initially, my husband and I were living in Washington DC with our family, and BYU Management Society had this function, and they were honoring Condoleezza Rice. And they asked me to play “Amazing Grace.”

Jenny Oaks Baker: So I played “Amazing Grace” with another pianist. And then I was able to meet her. And then like a month or two later, I was in the middle of doing a lot of videos at the time. And I just thought, I love “Amazing Grace,” which [00:27:00] pianist should I perform it with. And I was thinking about the different pianists. And into my mind, just completely randomly, came Condoleezza Rice, because someone had told me she's a pianist. And, I was like, Well, that would be kind of amazing. And I’d just kinda met her. We hadn't talked about collaborating.

Jenny Oaks Baker: We hadn't talked about anything, I just met her briefly. And so, I called up Deseret Book, my record label, and they were able to find a way to contact her. And she said, Yes. And we were able to do this “Amazing Grace” video. And it's a really beautiful video. And at the time she then said to me, I would love to do a spiritual.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And this was like eight or nine years ago. And then last year, there's this new organization called the National Museum of Religion in America. And they're trying to earn a lot of money to build a museum in Washington, DC, or somewhere on the east coast, that would be all about religion in America, [00:28:00] which is a great…it would be wonderful,

Jenny Oaks Baker: I would love to go to that museum in the Smithsonian near the Smithsonian. I mean, I would just think it was fabulous. And I think it'd be so healing for our nation. And anyway, so I said, I'd love to support that. And they were going to do this…they had some ideas, and they wanted me to perform at a function that would help raise money.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And they're like, what other musicians could you collaborate with? And I just thought, well, what if Condoleezza Rice and I did a spiritual together? And so I reached out to her, and she immediately responded and said, she'd love to do it.

Jenny Oaks Baker: So that was inspiration too cuz I hadn't thought about performing with her for like eight or nine years. And then she said, Yes. So we recorded, Kurt Bestor wrote us an arrangement for violin and piano called “Free at Last Medley.” And it's for African-American spirituals that are just gorgeous and super uplifting.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And she played really well. And that comes out on March 4th is when we'll release that video. And [00:29:00] it'll also be in the National. Museum of American Religion. I get them mixed up Religion in America. They're doing a documentary that is about Abraham Lincoln and his second inaugural address, which came at a time when the nation was totally un-unified.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And he kind of brought religion and faith and how we could unify as a nation. It's a beautiful address. And so, March 4th is actually the anniversary of that second inaugural address of Lincoln's. They're releasing it, I believe on April 14th, which is, I think maybe the year Lincoln died. So it'll be also a part of that.

Jenny Oaks Baker: So that's how that collaboration came forward. I mean, I can just see how the Lord brought to pass so many…all the wonderful things in my life.  

Connie Sokol: Wow. And you have another one coming out with Kurt Bestor,  “The Redeemer,” is that right? 

Jenny Oaks Baker: Yeah. so my next album is called “The Redeemer'' and it's all about the Savior, and it is the most powerful, most [00:30:00] beautiful project I've ever been a part of.

Jenny Oaks Baker: I've seen the hand of the Lord in this album more than anything else I've ever done in my life. And I'm super grateful, and I feel like the music is as equal to the message as humanly possible. I think Kurt was incredibly inspired. We were inspired in the song choice and the actual concept of the album. Kurt wrote 10 different songs, one for different episodes of the Savior's life, beginning with the preexistence and then His birth, and then the woman at the well and Mary Magdalene and then triumphal entry.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And then last supper, guests, Gethsemane, crucifixion, spirit world and then resurrection was the 10 episodes and a different song to illustrate each of those episodes. And it is, this music, I was in tears as I performed it. I was in tears as I listened to it. And [00:31:00] I've played and I've been a part of lots of incredible music.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And I feel very blessed for that. I was ugly crying as I was listening to the Gethsemane. And I've never ugly cried for my own playing, ever in my life, cuz it would be ugly. This is a special project, and that comes out May 6th. I think we may do like, you can instant gratification tracks? I guess theres ways to hear a couple tunes sooner on Spotify and Apple Music. So we may release a couple songs before Easter.

Connie Sokol: I think that would be phenomenal. And we will have that information in the show notes, for sure. For those that are listening, I think this is phenomenal. I'm listening to you and how the Savior and the Spirit and the gospel has just woven through all of this, this line upon line and the directing of your path and how that's happened for you and not without its  stops and starts and it's [00:32:00] issues and things like that.

Connie Sokol: I know that that's been a part of your life as well, but this, this red thread that runs through still pulling you and leading you where you needed to go. I know theres realities as well, and you have a wonderful husband and I love as we were talking beforehand. I want to talk to you about balancing this as a woman, wife, mother, sister, aunt, all those things, right?

Connie Sokol: Of being able to have some semblance of balance where you do feel like you're giving and portioning to each. And I know that 2007 you resigned from, I believe it was the National Symphony where you said, You know, I want to devote more time to my kids. I would love to know what kind of precipitated that.

Connie Sokol: And also let the listeners know, as we were talking about your sweet husband, that he is musical but it’s in a different way. So you share in the musicality, but still it combines with each other. And then how do you sort of balance all this as a family and especially as a mom.

Jenny Oaks Baker: Well, it's just the same thing. It's just relying on a Spirit to know how to balance everything and [00:33:00] each time in life, especially as a mother, we go through so many transitions. It's such a different experience to be a mother of young children versus a mother of, you know, elementary school children, versus a mother of teenagers, versus a mother who's sending them off on missions and to college and marrying them off.

Jenny Oaks Baker:  And I'm sure just being a mother or a grandmother is, of course, that's completely different as well. So at the different, we’re different kinds of mothers to each children, we're different kinds of mothers depending on where children are in their lives.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And the Spirit knows all these intricacies and can guide us. And of course, we don't make the right choices, and we're not perfect, but as long as we're just trying our best and following the Spirit, then the Spirit leads us to know how to react to every situation and every trial, every blessing.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And I still feel bad that, like, your question about us bringing together. I talked about how much some of my kids are difficult at times, [00:34:00] but performing together has really brought us together. Like, there's something unifying about music and art and creation where when you create something with others, you're unified and you're bonded.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And so, for us, there's some times when we'll start performing and somebody might be tired, somebody might be stressed, and somebody might not feel good, or whatever, but by the end, everyone's smiling and feeling the Spirit and coming together, and we feel more love at the end of performances than we do before them, for sure.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And I mean, we always feel love of course, but life is chaotic and crazy, but having the Spirit work on each of our hearts and bring us together, and we have to be together to play together. So that's just really unifying how having those same experiences. And I love traveling with my family and being able to perform together in different places and feel like we're building the kingdom. 

Jenny Oaks Baker: We're doing something that matters. We've of course gone on a few vacations that don't involve music. [00:35:00] A few, but mostly when we’ve gone to Hawaii, we performed. And the times we performed are so much, the trips had this glow to them, because we're serving. And those trips are just better.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And, like, they're more meaningful and significant, and we look back on them with happier feelings when we've served and when we’ve performed, than just the vacations. So it has brought us together. And then, as far as balancing… What else was…your question had like 500 answers.  

Connie Sokol: I know. And I was thinking, after I asked it, I was like, Could I have thrown any more in that kitchen sink? Theres so many things I just want to ask you. And I was, like, that was not a good question, but you answered it beautifully. And isn't that what politicians say? They say, if you get a question you don't know, you say, Well, the better question is…

Connie Sokol: So you just nimbly did that, like a performer, like a boss. No, I love that. I wanted to know how you balance that. And I love the mindset more than, oh, I do this, and I do this chart, and I do whatever. I love this mindset, [00:36:00] which is, I'm going to bring my best every day. I'm going to show up and we're going to do whatever we're given, those elements, on any given day. We're going to keep moving forward on what He's asked us to do, which is to share the gospel through this means and do it together as a family.

Connie Sokol: And I absolutely echo that when you have service as a part of those vacations, those things that you do, whether it's… People who are listening, they might be a speaking family or a writing family, or a camping family, whatever that is. But as you create those experiences, you are spot on. It does bond us together in that process of creation. So I think it's fantastic. 

Jenny Oaks Baker: I mean, some families go and build orphanages. That's incredible. And I'm sure that's so significant. And I bet that those trips where they, like, I have a niece who's just adorable. And she and her family, they went and they built an orphanage, or they took care of orphanage kids.

Jenny Oaks Baker: They did something like they served at the orphanage and then they went to a beach for a couple of days in Mexico. But I'm sure that trip is going to be one that they'll treasure in their hearts [00:37:00] cuz they were serving, as they were bonding, as they were having family time. And theres different ways to serve.

Jenny Oaks Baker: You don't just have to do the concerts. Theres always different ways to serve. And, like, even Hannah, my daughter who's in London. We were in Europe performing last Christmas, and she walked out of the breakfast with an extra banana, and I’m, like, Oh, that's, that'd be great to have later. And then she's, like, I brought it to give to a homeless person. I'm like, Oh! So theres different ways to serve. And we can always just reach out to people in different ways. We just have to have our eyes open.

Connie Sokol: Oh, my gosh. I love it. In fact, it just made me think of, we went to an orphanage in Mexico, and I was scared to death cuz I was driving across the border with my kids by myself.

Connie Sokol: My little guy brought these little Lego boxes. We didn't know what to bring that they would like. And you're so right. He brought these and he loves Legos and it was hard for him to buy them and then share them, right? But he gave them, and I remember how happy they were. We still talk about that. He's been to Disneyland, he's been to other things.

Connie Sokol: We still talk [00:38:00] about that, that bonding together, painting the things and the driving and all that, and, Ah, you scoot over! you know, all the things. I think this is so key that whatever we do as a creative, that in some way we involve our family. Even if we're not out there performing all together, I've seen the blessings of, as I've involved my kids with speaking and writing and things like that. You've seen it with music. 

Connie Sokol: And people who are listening, you can consider how that would involve your family and fill the measure of your family's creation by doing that as a family in some way. I absolutely love this. I just am so sad that our time is coming to a close. This has been so wonderful. Literally, I have so many other questions that…We'll have to do a podcast number two. But just a last couple of questions to wrap up.

Connie Sokol: What has been the surprising good thing that has come out of this, that maybe it's been unexpected. Something that's happened, something you've experienced, something that's been a blessing for your family. What's been an unexpected thing from this journey that you've [00:39:00] had? 

Jenny Oaks Baker: I know how to answer that. Last year, as my career was totally…. COVID decimated my career. I mean, not really, it just felt like it did. And all my concerts, of course, everyone's concerts were just, like…  

Connie Sokol:  Gone, in a day. 

Jenny Oaks Baker: It was such a bad day. Anyway. I think we all suffered from that, and I was really just feeling sad. And one day, I was just kind of standing in the kitchen, kind of feeling lost. And I had this very strong impression come. And I'd always thought that I was sent to earth to be a musician and a mother. I knew I was sent to earth to be a mother and a musician. And those were really important things I was set to do. And I've always felt that. 

Jenny Oaks Baker: And then COVID, I felt like I'd been crippled a little bit with my mission in life. And into my mind came the impression that I wasn't sent to earth to be a musician. I was sent to earth to be a missionary and [00:40:00] violin and music is the vehicle to that mission, but it's not the only vehicle. I've been given other vehicles. I can speak. I can testify.

Jenny Oaks Baker: But my true purpose is to bring people to Jesus Christ, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and also people who are not of our faith, to bring them to Jesus Christ. And so that's my mission.

Jenny Oaks Baker: It's not music. Music is just a really good vehicle I’ve been given. And so even if my arms are cut off tomorrow and I can never play violin again, even if I become deaf like Beethoven, or whatever, I can still fulfill the measure of my creation. And I encourage everyone to just pray about it, find out, like, What is your real mission in life and what is it you are supposed to do?

Jenny Oaks Baker: And then your art is your vehicle, cuz it's really empowering. And I'm just really grateful for that inspiration that came. And it helped me feel like, you know, the violin on stages were kind of closed to me at the time, but my mission could still go forward. [00:41:00] 

Connie Sokol: That is gorgeous. I have goosebumps up and down my arms.

Connie Sokol: The last question is what is the advice you would give to those who feel called to create and you of course, answered it already before I even asked it with, Pray about what is your mission? Your art is your vehicle. I love that phrase. That is beautiful. That needs to go on a pillow. Jenny, it has been absolute pure joy today.

Connie Sokol: Thank you so much for joining us. People listening want to find your stuff. Where is the best place for them to go to find you?

Jenny Oaks Baker: Well, my website jennyoaksbaker.com should have all my music and videos. I've got a YouTube channel, Jenny Oaks Baker. My Facebook page is Jenny Oaks Baker. Try to find the fan one, not the personal one cuz the personal one is tapped out.

Jenny Oaks Baker: And then I write you an email, like a year later, and say, follow my fan page. Anyway, find the fan page. And then Instagram my music is on iTunes and Spotify. Follow me on Spotify, please, cuz that helps you get my [00:42:00] music, if you're interested.

Jenny Oaks Baker: So those are the best places to find my music. Oh, and Deseret Book. All my CDs are at Deseret Book, if you want, like, a real CD. 

Connie Sokol: Do people do those? I do. I, like, anyone that's younger than 18 is like, What? 

Jenny Oaks Baker: You get the pictures, right? I like to touch things, but streaming on Spotify and Apple Music and iTunes.

Connie Sokol: And great stuff. All genres. She has from Sound of Music to Disney stuff to gospel stuff. It's just so wonderful. Jenny, what a light. Thank you so much for being so real and for sharing this journey of the creative that we can all relate to. You gave great tips and life lessons.

Connie Sokol: Thank you so much. It's going to be one I go back and re-listen to. You are loved. Thank you so much. And as always, if you like these interviews, go ahead and go below to rate, review and subscribe. And you can also check out more interviews at ldspma.org, and let's [00:43:00] get you started on your next step to feel Called to Create.