Jessica Stewart, violin

Introduction: From a family of professional musicians and music professors, Jessica began studying violin at age 3 and piano at age 5 and has been actively pursuing her career in music ever since. Jessica holds degrees in both Music Education and Violin Performance from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers, New Brunswick, having studied with international Paganini competition winner, Liliana Ciulei. She has also studied with Philadelphia Orchestra musicians Nancy Meinhardt, Hirono Oka and Jonathan Beiler. She believes that each teacher was able to provide her with very unique musical insights and guide her musical journey. Jessica plays many different styles of music and has played in music videos with rapper Jay-Z and vocalist Patrice Jegou Oyelese. In March of 2004, she was chosen and performed as soloist in a Corelli concerto at the Kimmel Center. Jessica has also worked with soprano, Julianne Baird in live concert performances. In 2009, she performed Verdi Requiem at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, NYC. Internationally, Jessica has traveled to Russia, Finland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic and Brazil to play violin at many venues. She has also performed in a master class with violinist, Midori. A former member of both Rutgers Symphony Orchestra and Symphony in C, Jessica is currently playing with the Garden State Philharmonic in Toms River and . For the past 10 years, she has been teaching violin, viola and cello in Edison, New Brunswick, East Brunswick, Collingswood and Haddonfield and has found teaching to be a learning experience as well as a creative outlet into the world of music. Jessica believes that the heart of music guides and reasons the technique. It is her belief that people can never stop learning with and through music. Being amazed by student achievement and growth, connecting students with music on a deeper level.