Jessica Meyer

With playing that is “fierce and lyrical” and works that are “other-worldly” (The Strad) and “evocative” (The New York Times), Jessica Meyer is an award-winning composer and violist whose passionate musicianship radiates accessibility and emotional clarity. Meyer’s first composer/performer portrait album, Ring Out (Bright Shiny Things, 2019), debuted at #1 on the Billboard Traditional Classical Chart. Her second album, I long and seek after, a collection of her vocal works, was released in March 2024 on New Focus Recordings and hailed by Musical America as “gorgeously scored.”

Since the start of her composition career in 2014, at age 40, Meyer’s works have viscerally explored the wide palette of colors available to each instrument while combining techniques inspired by her experiences as a contemporary and period instrumentalist. Her works have been performed in venues from the Kennedy Center to Carnegie Hall, by musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic, and by orchestras around the country. Her first symphonic band piece was commissioned and toured by “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band and was a finalist for the Revelli Memorial Composition Contest. She has also received multiple commissioning awards from Chamber Music America and the New York State Council on the Arts.

Premieres have included performances by acclaimed vocal ensembles Roomful of Teeth and Vox Clamantis; the St. Lawrence String Quartet (as composer-in-residence at Spoleto Festival USA); the American Brass Quintet; PUBLIQuartet; Sybarite 5; NOVUS NY of Trinity Wall Street; A Far Cry (commissioned by the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum); fivebyfive (for a piece performed in the Planetarium at the Rochester Museum and Science Center in honor of the 2024 eclipse); The Juilliard School’s Historical Performance Program; and the Lorelei Ensemble (for a song cycle that received the Dale Warland Singers Commission Award from Chorus America). Recent premieres include works for the Dorian Wind Quintet, Hausmann Quartet, Hub New Music, the Portland Youth Philharmonic in collaboration with In Mulieribus, her viola concerto GAEA (premiered with the Orchestra of the League of Composers at Miller Theatre in NYC), and Turbulent Flames, a new orchestral work commissioned by a consortium of orchestras across the U.S. Upcoming premieres include a work for MET Opera tenor Paul Appleby and the Claremont Trio, a viola and piano work commissioned by Juilliard Pre-College, and a commission for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra to open their 2025–26 Carnegie Hall season.

As a solo performer, Meyer uses a simple loop pedal to create a virtuosic orchestral experience with her viola and voice. Her solo shows have been featured at venues such as BAMcafé, Joe’s Pub, Symphony Space, the Andy Warhol Museum, Paris’s Sunset Sunside, and across Singapore, Switzerland, Vietnam, the UAE, and more. At home in many styles and a committed collaborator, she can be seen premiering her chamber works, creating with dancer Caroline Fermin, performing on Baroque viola, improvising with jazz musicians, or working with other composer-performers. Recently, she headlined the 2024 Primrose International Viola Competition at the American Viola Society Festival with a recital of her own works, gave solo and chamber recitals at Manhattan School of Music, and made appearances nationwide.

Meyer is also recognized for her work as an educator, empowering musicians with skills in networking, communication, teaching, and entrepreneurship. Her workshops have been presented at the Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute, Manhattan School of Music, Longy, NYU, and others, as well as for the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic Teaching Artists, Chamber Music America, and major university programs across the U.S. She has conducted hundreds of workshops for students and adults via Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Caramoor, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. A passionate advocate for creative activation, she encourages musicians of all ages to improvise, compose, and unlock their artistic voices.

Meyer has led the Teen Composer Intensive at New England Music Camp, served as Composer-in-Residence at the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival (since 2023), and currently leads their Emerging Composer Program at Juilliard. She is on the viola and chamber music faculty at the Manhattan School of Music, helping students build not only their technique but also sustainable careers as artists.

To learn more, please visit www.jessicameyermusic.com.