Curriculum, Performance, & Instructional Leadership

Jenni Sonstroem is a National Board Certified music educator and curriculum leader with more than 20 years of experience teaching elementary music in North Carolina. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Piano Performance from University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Master of Music in Jazz Piano Performance with teaching certification from East Carolina University.

Early in her career, Jenni traveled to Mali, West Africa to study the djembe and balafon with master musicians—an experience that continues to shape her passion for world music and culturally responsive teaching. Before entering public education, she performed professionally as a jazz pianist, appearing at venues including The Inn on Biltmore Estate and The Omni Grove Park Inn.

Jenni currently teaches elementary music in the Wake County Public School System, where she helped establish the music program at Laurel Park Elementary and later joined the founding staff of Apex Friendship Elementary. She is a certified World Music Drumming educator and an active advocate for arts education.

Jenni has received numerous grants supporting music education initiatives and served as a curriculum author for the North Carolina Symphony education concert materials. Her choirs have been selected to perform with the Raleigh Fine Arts Society Choral Celebration and the Wake County All-District Honors Chorus.

A longtime collaborator with QuaverEd, Jenni has served as a pilot teacher, curriculum contributor, pacing guide and workbook developer, and Quaver Teacher Ambassador. She continues to support music educators through curriculum development and professional learning initiatives nationwide.