Jessica is a thirteen year-old ninth grader. She has been playing piano since she was four. She is currently learning piano from Mr. Bill Lutes and was previously taught by Mrs. Linda Bramlett. Jessica won multiple prizes in the global online Great Composers Competition series in 2017 (First Prize, Best Mozart Performance and Best Haydn Performance, Second Prize, Best Mendelssohn Performance and Best Chopin Performance, and Third Prize, Best Bach Performance and Artist of the Year, in age group III). She received honorable mentions in the Philharmonia Orchestra Concerto Competition and Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras in 2017, the Midwest Young Artists Walgreens National Concerto Competition and the Madison Symphony Orchestra Fall Youth Concerto Competition in 2016. She won a prize (top ten) in the Henle International Piano Competition 2016 in the 9-11 age group. She also won first place in the Sonatina Festival, Verona, Wisconsin, in 2015 in the 11 year old group, and gold medals in the Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA) state-level Solo and Ensemble piano solo competition in 2015 and 2016. Jessica received an honorable mention in the Wisconsin Music Teachers Association (WMTA) State Badger Keyboard Competition in 2016. She performed in various masterclasses taught by great pianists including Jessica Johnson, Roberto Plano and Paola Del Negro. Jessica is grateful to Mr. Kangwoo Jin for his accompaniment and guidance in performing this beautiful concerto by Mendelssohn. Besides playing piano, Jessica is a violinist of the Youth Orchestra in the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras. She also plays saxophone in Symphonic Band at James Madison Memorial High School. Jessica loves art and has had some of her drawings on display in her school gallery. She also excels in math, writing and speech, and is on her high school’s Tennis Varsity Team.
