Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenna Kopitske.
Hi Jenna, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I loved growing up watching Emily Bear on YouTube. She was always on The Ellen Show sharing her gift of playing the piano and writing hundreds of songs. She was 6 years old and I was 7. I was very inspired by her. I began taking lessons, but it wasn’t until my mom saw an ad on Facebook for a “school of rock program” needing a keyboardist in Appleton, WI (my hometown) that I actually started playing with other kids in a band setting outside of school. Once middle school came around, I wanted to play drums. It just seemed like a perfect storm when our drummer in the rock band broke his arm, then later moved to Texas. I am a very visual learner and just starting playing gigs on drums. I can remember how confused everybody around me was, including our teachers. The kid who used to play keys just sat down and started drumming overnight. I taught myself how to use all the toms and cymbals from memory and somehow knew what do to. I loved it and nobody asked any further questions. This continued into middle school jazz band, high school percussion and later college. I began drumming with local bands all around Wisconsin from blues to country, punk rock, Christian metal, Midwest emo, lo-fi indie rock and more. I loved everything music; marching band, orchestra, steel drumming, handbell choir, you name it. Things only got more busy with my schedule as I got older. I began composing my own solo piano music and now I have a couple EP’s released. As soon as I walked at graduation from UW-Oshkosh in 2022 with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Industry and an emphasis in Music Business, I drove down to Nashville 2 weeks later. I couldn’t wait. I’ve done some pretty cool things over the years such as play the Grand Ole Opry, compose music to a horror short film, be cast in a female drumming documentary, tour all over Hawaii and Italy, attend the Grammy Awards, and more. Most recently, I have been on the road opening for Dwight Yoakam, Jo Dee Messina and Jamey Johnson. Coming up this year is Deana Carter and Jackson Dean. I play drums and keys for The Bennett Hall Band, look those girls up!!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have always been struggles, and I still face new struggles even as a working professional in Nashville. I haven’t had the easiest track record with music educators in my early life and adolescence. Middle school and high school were among the worst with very sexist music teachers. It didn’t matter how much I practiced or how hard I worked. I would be excluded from auditions and not picked for certain parts because of my gender. I was not seen as “good enough” compared to the boys. The owner of the Appleton rock band program who had guided and mentored me for years told my parents that I would flunk out of music school and that I would never graduate college. Once I got to college, I was bullied by one professor after my mom was diagnosed with cancer. I remember this time in my life very clearly. There was this one 8am ensemble rehearsal and I did not get much sleep the night before. I held back tears, struggled, and knew I wasn’t on my A-game. The professor kept nagging on me during this one piano section. She could not let it go and picked a random student in the room (a non-percussionist) and pointed to them and said they would easily be 10x better than me. Things like that. She later unfriended me from Facebook after I graduated, but it’s not like she was a great mentor in real life. That’s where my scholarship money was going, for her guidance. A different music professor told me I was doing “way too many” side gigs and that all my focus should really be at the college doing college music only. Little did they know, to my advantage, I gained far more professional experience by doing both. I always have. Nashville exhibits a lot of narcissists on display. You have to be careful.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Since moving to Nashville, I have very consistently been on tour as a drummer. I proudly endorse Paiste Cymbals, Vater Drumsticks, Humes & Berg Cases and Cympad International. I split my free time teaching drums and piano virtually and in person, gigging locally with various artists/bands, doing sessions, substitute teaching at a couple schools, and composing my own music. My nicknames around town are “drummah” and “Jenna K Slays.” As a side hustle, I am also known for cleaning up artist catalogs in the sync licensing world, and pitching songs.
I am most proud of my hard work and dedication. I remember growing up and thinking why do people schedule calls and meetings so far out? I realize now that successful people are truly often busy every day of the week. Now that my schedule has little openings these days, I feel very proud that God helped to get me here. Also, when I listen back to old performances and videos, I can see how far I’ve come in my technique, versatility, dynamic control, genre knowledge, and musicianship overall.
I think what sets me apart from others is my grip on the music industry as a whole. I play piano, drums, guitar, I have experience in booking, marketing, sync license assistant work, website building, band leading, composing soundtracks and making demos for artists. What I have been told from others is that I have done so much in Nashville in a very short time. I have lived here 3 years and it never sat well with me when people told me that Nashville is a 10-year town. That’s too long of a wait!
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
There are so many to choose from. I really liked dance as a kid. I always enjoyed running around the halls after the recital to try and find my parents. During The Nutcracker in 2006, I did this one dance in particular called Mother Ginger. We were rolled out on stage under a huge prop, a massive lady’s dress. When the music played we ran through the little zipper opening. As the music ended we had to rush back inside. Mother Ginger is a large, comical character from The Nutcracker ballet, known for her enormous skirt from which a group of children (Polichinelles) emerge to dance, providing comic relief. The character is based on a Russian candy tin from the 1890s. She appears in the Land of Sweets during Clara’s dream. I remember asking my parents to play The Nutcracker soundtrack all year round. We would always watch my dance DVD’s even in the summer. Now, I truly believe I was meant to be a musician. Looking back, I really loved the music element of dance.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jennakopitske.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennakopitskemusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009753918775
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenna-kopitske-a77982250
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jennakopitske4112
- Other: https://ads.broadjam.com/artists/home.php?artistID=132162
