Jessica Roemischer '82

/

Jessica Roemischer '82

Composer, Musician, Performance Artist, Poet, Songwriter, Visual Artist, Writer

Me in 50 words or less:
Jessica Roemischer is an award-winning pianist, storyteller, and visual artist. Evocatively combining music and spoken word in live, interactive events, Jessica conjures a world beyond divisions, freeing the stories that are held in the silence of our hearts. New York-born and raised, Jessica lives in Sydney, Australia.

Pronouns:
She/her/hers

Undergraduate Affiliations

Department: Art and Archaeology
Certificates: Visual Arts
Arts-related Groups: Freshman Singers

Bio

Jessica Roemischer is an award-winning pianist, writer, visual artist, and a beloved teacher. Her life is devoted to liberating the human spirit through the power of music, image and story.
Jessica graduated magna cum laude in Art History/Visual Arts from Princeton University, and then lived in Melbourne, Australia, where she was a featured speaker and/or artist-in-residence at various educational institutions. Returning to the USA, Jessica taught on the Music Faculty of Middlebury College, Vermont from 1989-1999.

As a consummate musician, Jessica's performances have a rare beauty and authenticity. The New York Times calls her piano artistry, “a warmly sensitive approach.” Jessica’s solo albums are available on iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify. In 2020, she began live-streamed interactive events, bringing the inspiration of music to people amidst the challenges of our time.

As a teacher of music, Jessica developed an innovative approach based on duet improvisation. Her ground-breaking work with women with disabilities, was supported by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and earned her a nomination for a CNN Heroes Award.

Jessica’s fascination with language--spoken and written--infuses her endeavors. Her writings and interviews have been translated into six languages. Jessica’s memoir, In Duet with God - The Story of a Lifelong Friendship (2015) received an Illumination Book Award. In the same spirit, "Homecoming,” Jessica's podcast, combines word and music, highlighting themes of universal meaning.

Featured Project

"A Love Song to the Earth"

I am seeking underwriting support and/or a benefactor(s), to enable me to bring healing to the world through the establishment of a center/facility/residence, from which I would broadcast even more powerfully, widely and evocatively. Please feel free to contact me.

Artist Statement

As a child, I delighted in nature; in composing small poems; in playing the piano. Despite early tragedies, my heart remained open, and uncannily so. In the quiet of the evening, I’d sit at the keyboard. Though I was often filled with sadness, the musical notes flowed from my fingers. And as they did, a veil dropped away, revealing a dimension where everything was okay. Buoyed by the sound, I became happy, easeful, free in my being. I sensed a remarkable possibility…a world filled with wonder. “Love is the swan that gently floats at the water’s edge,” I penned at the age of nine. Amidst the difficulties, I was an optimist, enlivened by this vision. I still am.

While life has conspired, over the years, to present myriad challenges and heartaches, my love of music, poetry and nature has seen me through. I've become a pianist and writer. As we face unprecedented challenges, I realize that the decades have prepared me for this moment, perfectly.

I’m now doing live-streamed performances on social media, something I could not have imagined, even five years ago. Distinct from a traditional concert setting, social media allows for interaction and response between all who tune in - and myself. Joining me from across the world, many are grappling with overwhelming difficulties—their lives reflecting the myriad challenges of this unprecedented moment in history.

I’m now doing live-streamed performances on social media, something I could not have imagined, even five years ago. Distinct from a traditional concert setting, social media allows for interaction and response between all who tune in - and myself. Joining me from across the world, many are grappling with overwhelming difficulties—their lives reflecting the myriad challenges of this unprecedented moment in history.

In this way, I’m becoming intimately connected to people. Learning of their difficulties, I offer to them the healing power of music. As I play, I echo their stories through a melding of word and melody, providing reassurance, evoking faith, kindling hope, and love. One woman in her 80’s wrote, “I truly do not believe that you really understand what a blessing you have become in the lives of so many of us in these very trying days…”

Indeed, my life, my music, my stories, these concerts, are taking on a meaning and purpose beyond anything I could have imagined. And yet, all the ingredients were there from the time I was young. The vision I had as a girl is coming into reality. Uplifted by the beauty of music, people are joining together beyond the divisions of politics, race, culture, age, religion. Our stories and music are revealing what make us human and thus, what make us one.

One afternoon, I went to the ocean to meditate, to gain guidance. A message came to me, “You are emerging at the same time the world is.” So, I feel that I am at the beginning. WE are at the beginning, the fabric of our lives weaving us into one sublime, interconnected whole. To help bring that into being is my greatest joy.

I would like to share my expertise with:

  • Alumni

  • Students

I would like to:

  • Speak on a panel

  • Conduct a workshop

  • Share advice via phone or coffee chat

Contact Jessica Roemischer