Composer Jessica Meyer To Premiere Four Works In Spring

Jessica Meyer is an established violist and educator whose playing has been described as "fierce and lyrical" by the The Strad. She is a member of the well-regarded new music collective counter)induction, and a widely-traveled soloist. In recent years, composition has become central to her many musical endeavors. Since her 2014 solo album, Sounds of Being, Meyer has firmly established herself as a composer/violist with a unique and confident voice. Featured as part of Q2's marathon of Emerging Women Composers, current/recent commissioning projects include works for Sybarite5 (as part of its Outliers project), Sandbox Percussion, PubliQuartet, and soprano Melissa Wimbish for her Carnegie Hall debut.

This spring, four new works by Meyer will be premiered. Swerve, for solo cello, was commissioned by Amanda Gookin (PubliQuartet) for her ambitious Forward Music Project, and will premiere at National Sawdust on March 1. Tapped into the Same Vein, for string quartet and viola, premieres in Philadelphia on March 3. Counter)induction premieres Sagrada Familia at the Brooklyn Public Library. And, in her largest-scale work to date, NOVUS NY premieres Hidden Messages in Water at Trinity Church Wall Street in May.

"Meyer's album is a true contribution to the repertoire of programmatic music, providing a soundscape to the abstract musings we experience every day.... Just as the human psyche is prone to conflict, chaos, and occasional harmony, its musical representation, envisioned by Meyer, is a resounding potpourri of styles." -I CARE IF YOU LISTEN

3/1 NYC > National Sawdust > 7PM > INFO Cellist Amanda Gookin premieres "Swerve" as part of her Forward Music Project

3/3 Philadelphia > Christ Church Philadelphia > 7PM > INFO "Tapped into the Same Vein" for string quartet + viola premiere

3/24 NYC > BAM Cafe > INFO Meyer performs a collection of her solo works for viola & voice & electronics

4/30 NYC > Brooklyn Public Library > 4PM > INFO Counter)Induction premieres "Sagrada Familia"

5/18 NYC > Trinty Church Wall Street > 1PM > INFO NOVUS NY premieres "Hidden Messages in Water"

With playing that is "fierce and lyrical" and works that are "other-worldly" (The Strad) and "evocative" (New York Times), Jessica Meyer is a versatile composer and violist whose passionate musicianship radiates accessibility, generosity, and emotional clarity. As a soloist and member of the award-winning and criticallyacclaimed contemporary music collective counter)induction, Jessica has premiered pieces for solo viola internationally - expanding the repertoire for viola by championing new works while also composing her own.

Meyer's compositions explore the wide palette of emotionally expressive colors available to each instrument while using traditional and extended techniques inspired by her varied experiences as a contemporary and period instrumentalist. In 2014, she was featured on Q2's marathon of Emerging Women Composers, and was awarded a grant from the Jerome Fund for New Music to write a new work for The Colonials and countertenor Eric Brenner. Recent commissions include a work for the Nautilus Brass Quintet as the composer in residence at the 2016 Women Composers Festival of Hartford, and soprano Melissa Wimbish for her Carnegie Hall debut. Upcoming commissions include works for cellist Amanda Gookin, flutist/dancer Zara Lawler, the PUBLIQuartet, and NOVUS NY of Trinity Wall Street under the direction of Julian Wachner.

Meyer's current solo show and "intriguingly vivid" (Lucid Culture) debut album, Sounds of Being, is a surround-sound sensory experience of her own compositions for viola and electronics. She uses pedal-triggered electronics to create an orchestral experience with her viola and voice. Her solo performances have been featured at iconic NYC Clubs such as Joe's Pub and SubCulture, the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, and in Paris at Sunset Sunside. Equally at home with many styles of music, Jessica can regularly be seen performing on Baroque viola, improvising with jazz musicians, or collaborating with other performer/composers.

Known for her inspirational workshops, Meyer empowers musicians with networking, communication, and entrepreneurial skills so they can be the best advocates for their own careers. They have been featured at The Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute of Music, for the TAs of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Manhattan School of Music, the Longy School of Music, NYU, the Chamber Music America Conference, and at various universities around the country. She also does consulting work for Juilliard Global Ventures, where she visits the Nord Anglia schools in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar to work with music teachers to help them implement a more inquiry-based pedagogy into the curriculum.

(Photo Credit: Tatiana Daubeck)

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