Jennifer Peterson attended Bowling Green (Ohio) State University and Minnesota State University Moorhead, where she was a student of Dr. John Bentley and Dr. Ruth Dahlke, respectively. Her other teachers included Kathy Greenbank, principal oboe for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Basil Reeve, principal oboe for the Minnesota Orchestra; Marily Zupnik, former principal oboist of Minnesota orchestra; Valerie Anderson, James Mitchell and Kimberly Bryden of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra; and Steiner Hannevold of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in Norway.

Peterson has had master classes with The Bergen Woodwind Quintet from 1996 to 1998; Mark Seerup of the Minnesota Orchestra for a reed making master class in 2005; Kathy Greenbank of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for master class in 2002; Robert Sorton from Ohio State University and owner of Sorton Double Reed Co. in 2000; and Valerie Anderson, owner of Jeanné, Inc. She attended the John Mack Oboe Camp in North Carolina from 1994 to 1997, where she studied with John Mack, as well as attended daily master classes and reed making classes.

Peterson has taught oboe at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn., since 1998. She holds weekly oboe reed making classes and performs regularly with the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Wind Quintet, as well as the Concordia College Faculty Wind Quintet. Peterson is the assistant principal oboe and personnel manager of the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony. Peterson has performed with The Joffrey Ballet, the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra, the Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra, the Bowling Green Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lima Symphony Orchestra, The Concordia College Orchestra, the MSUM Symphony Orchestra and the Northern Winds Quintet. She performed solo recitals at Bowling Green State University from 1994 to 1996, Minnesota State University Moorhead from 1996 to 1998, and Concordia College from 1998 to 2005. Peterson stays active performing and teaching a full studio of junior high, high school and adult students from around the region. She lives in Fargo, N.D., with her husband, Russell, and daughter, Stella.