Jessie Montgomery Explained

Jessie Montgomery (born December 8, 1981, New York City) is an American composer, chamber musician, and music educator. Her compositions focus on the vernacular, improvisation, language, and social justice.

Early life and education

Jessie Montgomery was raised in Manhattan's Lower East Side by playwright and performer Robbie McCauley and composer Ed Montgomery. She began her violin studies at the Third Street Music School Settlement. She holds a bachelor's degree in violin performance from the Juilliard School, and completed a master's degree in Composition for Film and Multimedia at New York University in 2012.[1]

Starting in 1999, Montgomery became involved with the Sphinx Organization, a Detroit-based nonprofit that supports young African American and Latino string players. After receiving multiple Sphinx awards and grants as a young performer and composer, she now serves as composer-in-residence for the Sphinx Virtuosi, the organization's professional touring ensemble.[2] [3]

Career

Montgomery devoted her early career to performance and to teaching at organizations such as Community MusicWorks in Providence, Rhode Island.[4] She co-founded the string ensemble PUBLIQuartet in 2010, and performed with the Catalyst Quartet until January 2021.

She has increasingly focused on composing solo, chamber, vocal, and orchestral works. Montgomery has completed commissions for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra,[5] the Albany Symphony, the Sphinx Organization,[6] the Joyce Foundation, the National Choral Society, and The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America. She has received additional grants and awards from the ASCAP Foundation, Chamber Music America, American Composers Orchestra, and the Sorel Organization. Her music has been performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra,[7] the Philharmonia Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony, and choreographed by the Dance Theatre of Harlem.[8]

In 2014, New York Times music critic Anthony Tommasini highlighted her piece Banner for solo string quartet and string ensemble, commissioned by the Sphinx Organization and the Joyce Foundation as a response to the 200th anniversary of "The Star-Spangled Banner," for "daringly transform[ing] the anthem, folding it into a teeming score that draws upon American folk and protest songs, and anthems from around the world, including Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban, to create a musical melting pot."[9]

In 2019, Fanfare also discussed her multicultural New York influences, noting that listeners could expect to hear "English consort, samba, mbira, Zimbabwean dance, swing, techno... occasionally veering, somewhat ecstatically, towards a modern jazz jam session" in her work.[10]

In 2016, Montgomery was elected to the board of Chamber Music America.[11] In 2021, she became the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Mead Composer-in-Residence.[12] Her 2021 composition, Hymn for Everyone, composed as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, opens the Grammy-winning album, Contemporary American Composers (2023).[13] [14] [15]

She is part of the duo big dog little dog with bassist Eleonore Oppenheim. New Amsterdam released their first record in 2019.

Discography

Works

Spirce:[17]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: My Name Is: Jessie Montgomery. Oglesby. Meghann. Classical MPR. 25 June 2018 . 2019-08-15.
  2. Web site: Sphinx Competition Alumni by Year Sphinx Organization. 2019. The Sphinx Organization. en-US. 2019-08-15.
  3. Web site: MPower Past Recipients Sphinx Organization. The Sphinx Organization. en-US. 2019-08-15.
  4. Ross. Alex. September 4, 2006. Learning the Score; A Critic at Large. The New Yorker. 82. 82–88. ProQuest Music Periodicals Database.
  5. Web site: Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Announces Next Season. Cooper. Michael. 2016-02-10. ArtsBeat: New York Times Blog. en-US. 2019-08-15.
  6. News: Thoughtful string program from Sphinx Virtuosi. Brookes. Stephen. October 11, 2012. The Washington Post. August 15, 2019.
  7. News: Alders . Carine . Dirigente Marin Alsop: 'Ik hoop dat we nu voorbij het kantelpunt zijn en niet weer terugvallen' . 17 June 2024 . 16 May 2024.
  8. News: In a Ballet Across America world premiere, even the piano dances. Kaufman. Sarah. June 1, 2019. The Washington Post. August 15, 2019.
  9. News: O Say Can You Hear?. Tommasini. Anthony. 2014-10-30. The New York Times. 2019-08-15. en-US. 0362-4331.
  10. Clarke. Colin. Jul–Aug 2019. Project W. Fanfare. 42. 445–446. ProQuest Music Periodicals Database.
  11. Summer 2016. Transitions On the CMA Board. Chamber Music. 33. 6–8. ProQuest Music Periodicals Database.
  12. Web site: Jessie Montgomery named as the CSO's next composer-in-residence | Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
  13. News: Grammys 2024: Winners List . The New York Times . 4 February 2024 . 2024-02-05 .
  14. Web site: 2024-03-14 . Hymn for Everyone . 2024-02-05 . Jessie Montgomery . en-US.
  15. News: CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND RICCARDO MUTI RELEASE CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN COMPOSERS ON CSO RESOUND LABEL . 2024-02-05.
  16. Clarke. Colin. May–June 2016. Review: J. Montgomery. Fanfare. 39. 5. 323–324. ProQuest Music Periodicals Database.
  17. Web site: Works Archive . 2022-09-05 . Jessie Montgomery . en-US.

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