About Me

Hi, I'm Jen Courter!

I'm a ukulele jam leader, teacher, and performer based in Walnut Creek, California, offering private ukulele lessons and group classes for beginners and beyond in the East Bay. I love how this instrument's joyous, unassuming spirit brings people together and welcomes you exactly as you are.

Since 2019, I've helped lead the Lamorinda Ukulele Club. I regularly run mixed-level jams with the club, as well as my own intermediate jam series. I've presented workshops at the Smoldering Uke retreat and at Uke Jam's Sycamore Ranch Campout, and I'll be joining the California Coast Music Camp as a ukulele instructor in July 2026. As a performer, I've been featured at Front Porch Music Presents at the Town Hall Theatre in Lafayette and on the Community Stage at the Lafayette Art & Wine Festival. I also serve on the Advisory Board of Front Porch Music, a Lafayette-based nonprofit that supports local hobby musicians and emerging artists.

The ukulele is part of a longer musical story. I studied piano privately for many years, including under Terry Spiller at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where I earned a music minor in classical piano performance and electronic music. I played viola in community orchestras and local productions throughout high school, and I've been a vocal student of Tina Strance since 2022. Since picking up the ukulele in 2017, it's been my main focus and greatest musical joy.

Outside of music, I earned a Ph.D. in mathematics. My math career has included publishing research, teaching at universities and colleges, tutoring, and developing computer visualization, animation, and special effects software at a Berlin-based startup called mental images, later acquired by Nvidia. The team received a Technical Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.