Jennifer Parker-Harley, flutist and teacher, is Professor of Flute at the University of South Carolina in Columbia and is proud to be a third-generation music educator in the public education system of South Carolina. Jennifer brings her experience as an orchestral flutist, recitalist and chamber musician to her studio at USC. She has a keen interest in contemporary music and has premiered and commissioned numerous pieces that feature the flute in solo and chamber settings, including new works for flute and bassoon with her husband, bassoonist Michael Harley. She also maintains a deep commitment to the standard repertoire: her CD with pianist Lydia Brown and actress Robyn Hunt, Words and Music (Titanic label), includes masterworks by Debussy, Schubert and Reinecke, and incorporates readings of the poetry that inspired each piece.  Along with other USC faculty, she has recorded and will soon release CDs featuring premieres by Stephen Jaffe, Mary Kouyoumdjian, Valerie Coleman and Jeff Scott.  She is also a member of the flute quartet, Eudaimonia, which released a concert-length work by composer David Kirkland Garner on Sourwood Records in 2025 that was featured on Spotify’s ASCAP playlist in August. Jennifer also continues to perform with ensembles in the Carolinas, including the South Carolina Philharmonic, Charleston Symphony and Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.

Actively involved with the faculty at USC in developing ways to address the unique concerns of 21st century musicians, Dr. Parker-Harley has an interest in helping her students develop a mindful approach to music-making and has worked closely with psychologist Todd Kays to develop a curriculum that helps students address the mental and emotional aspects of performing and practicing. She is currently pursuing certification as a mindfulness instructor through the Mindfulness Institute for Emerging Adults. 

Jennifer has appeared as a masterclass clinician and recitalist at colleges and universities across the US and has also taught at music festivals in Europe and South America. A frequent performer at the National Flute Association’s yearly convention, she is a two-time laureate of the NFA’s Young Artist Competition and has served as a committee member on the NFA Pedagogy Committee, the Graduate Research Competition Committee, the chair of the Orchestral Excerpt Competition and was a member of the committee who reviewed and re-imagined the NFA Repertoire Guide in 2020-2021. 

She has also held leadership roles both on campus and in national events like the College Music Society Summit on 21st Century Music School Design. Currently, she is the faculty advisor for Ears Wide Open, a concert series for adventurous listeners which which aims to providing innovative and immersive concert experiences to the USC community. She is also faculty advisor for the South Carolina Flute Society,  a student organization that holds national competitions and stages a yearly flute festival, all while giving USC flute students important experience in event planning, fundraising and community engagement. She is exceedingly proud of the students she has been privileged to work with at USC, who are pursuing successful and varied careers in music in the orchestral realm, college teaching, chamber music, music education, and the music industry. 

Jennifer was born and raised in South Carolina, graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy, and holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Michigan State University and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. In the summers, she teaches at the National Music Festival in Chestertown, MD and the Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan. Jennifer has been featured on the cover of Flute Talk magazine, has received multiple nominations for USC’s most prestigious teaching awards, and is on the artist roster for Powell Flutes.