ABOUT

Jessica Krash creates music that conjures an extraordinary range of emotional depth and contrasting perspectives, often within the span of just a few minutes. Her compositions bring together Romantic lyricism and post-tonal sensibilities in a distinctive, compelling voice that balances wit, warmth, and the dramatic intensity of both personal experiences and broader social concerns. Critics have praised her ability to compose music with “an abiding aura of disquiet with haunting purity of vision” (Joseph Newsome), while noting that she “combines politics and music in a manner that does justice to both” (Tim Page). One of Jessica’s favorite concerts was her work for dancers and saxophones on the C&O Canal in Washington, DC in a thunderstorm.

Jessica’s music has been performed in the US, Europe, and Asia, and can be heard in many videos on YouTube.  She won the 2010 “Wammie” for Classical Composer (the Washington Area Music Awards’ version of a Grammy). She has directed several organizations, including the Washington chapter of the American Composers Forum, and Chamber Music Weekend at the Levine School or Music, and for over 30 years, a chamber music seminar combining amateur and professional musicians. For 28 years, she taught music at George Washington University. She has given lectures at the Library of Congress, NIH, Strathmore, Washington Conservatory, and the Kennedy Center on topics including music and the brain, women composers, music and dance, and “dangerous music,” music that was understood as powerful enough to change society.

Jessica’s 2018 chamber and vocal music album (Albany Records) was praised by the Wall Street Journal, Gramophone, and Fanfare, and was named in “10 of the Best New Releases of 2018” by The Daffodil Perspective. Her solo piano album (Ravello/Capstone) was listed by Tim Page as one of the most interesting recordings of 2006. In the last few years, she has had commissions from the Lithuanian Symphonic Wind Orchestra; the Community Women’s Orchestra of Oakland, CA; the City Choir of Washington; and the Johansen International Competition for Young String Players, among others.  Jessica’s cello concerto premiered in 2018 with the Alexandria (VA) Symphony, directed by James Ross with cellist Tanya Anisimova.

FORMATIVE YEARS:

Jessica Krash was born in Washington, DC in 1959. She spent her student years in Boston and New York City, at Harvard, MIT, and Juilliard, and then returned to Washington to raise her children among extended family.  Jessica’s childhood piano teacher was the dramatic, passionate Ylda Novik, who instilled in Jessica a sense that music was made of stories and emotions, and connections between people. Jessica’s father, Abe, loved classical music and had a warm sense of humor, with an appreciation for absurdity that all of his descendants inherited. Jessica’s mother, Joan, was a psychotherapist and visual artist who encouraged creativity.  As a teen, Jessica took ballet and modern dance classes with Carolyn Tate, an African American woman who had been excluded from ballet because of racism. Even for students like Jessica who were not talented at dance, Carolyn taught elegance, dignity and grace, and about how gesture, momentum, rhythm, and expression go together. Carolyn’s dance classes always had pianists who improvised. At Harvard, Jessica studied intensively for a year with Lydia Artymiw, who deepened Jessica’s understanding of music as drama, and enveloped Jessica in the great tradition of virtuoso piano playing. When Lydia left Boston, Jessica studied with Patricia Zander, who encouraged Jessica to think of music as poetry and literature, with connections to dance and visual art – music being made of shifts in colors and textures, sensibilities, worldviews, woven into predictable or surprising storylines, with many different qualities of motion. Patricia encouraged Jessica to develop imaginative phrase shapes, asymmetrical and unpredictable swirls. Patricia advocated that music students needed a variety of life experiences to enrich their artistry. She also introduced Jessica to the idea of having an outside eye on one’s problems and anxieties, and eventually the experience of such shifts in perspective became a central part of Jessica’s aesthetic. At Harvard, Jessica took a class in traditional Chinese music with Rulan Pian, and composition lessons with Lyle Davidson, with a focus on phrasing and rhythm, and with Earl Kim, who espoused a spare aesthetic. Later, Jessica received a doctorate in composition from the University of Maryland, where she studied elegant musical structures with Lawrence Moss. Throughout her student years, Jessica played duos with excellent string and wind players, joining them at their lessons taught by some of the best musicians of the era.

Collaborations with friends have had a big influence on Jessica’s aesthetic. Among them, rehearsals and concerts with cellist-composer Tanya Anisimova explored spiritual issues in music, how music is a life force, and is part of something bigger than ourselves. Composer, bass and qin player Christopher Roberts encouraged Jessica to think about gesture in music as a force for expression. Jessica loves teaching students of all ages and levels. Many of her ideas and values were developed in conversations with her students.