Meet Jennifer Kullby

Between her sultry jazz voice and her bigger-than-life personality, Jennifer Kullby cannot be ignored. Though born in Oakland, California, Jennifer moved to Evergreen at the age of two and has called this mountain community her home for nearly 18 years.

Jennifer discovered her passion for performance at a young age, performing in the Evergreen Children’s Chorale and was an active participant in school choir. She was always the only child of her two brothers and sister that was more musical than sports oriented. “Singing and learning about music inspires me every day,” says Jennifer. She snagged memorable roles in Evergreen High School’s musicals, including Berthe in “Pippin” and The Sour Kangaroo in “Seussical.”

Over the years, she has been presented with multiple choral awards including the Bill Loper Performing Arts Scholarship and the Evergreen Children’s Chorale Scholarship.

Outside of school, Jennifer was equally active and diligent in musical theater and performance. In order to continually improve her skills, Jennifer took vocal lessons at the Center for Performing Arts Studies and jazz lessons at the University of Denver. “I never got sick of it,” she says of the hours she clocked training her voice and rehearsing for shows. “It always empowers me.”

This motivation carried Jennifer through Broadway variety shows, choir concerts, and local musicals. She even landed a slot at the Evergreen Jazz Festival her sophomore year and sang alongside Back to the Future’s Lea Thompson in a show for the 7 Dancers performing troupe. But despite this myriad of experiences and professional training, when asked what helps her singing the most, Jennifer says her friends. “I am most inspired by my friends. They are the backbone of my life.”

Jennifer is currently displaying her drive and talent as a vocal performance major at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. “I really wanted the experience of being in a completely different area and state and seeing how I liked being away from home,” Jennifer says of her choice to attend UPS. She is thriving in her program, working hard in school operas, her all–female a capella group, What She Said, and even landed the lead in UPS’s production of "Pirates of Penzance."

Curious to hear this amazing voice? Her videos are all over YouTube and her tracks can be downloaded online. You may also spot Jennifer around Evergreen during the summer, but as for coming back to the mountains permanently, Jennifer says despite her deep appreciation for growing up here, it’s not in her immediate future. “But who knows?” she says. “Maybe my life track will take me back here. I figure I will build connections through this route and see where my life takes me.”

Photo by Alaina Stocker