Jade Simmons
Encyclopedia
Jade Simmons, née Smalls, is an American classical pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

. She has been chosen as Concert Artist Guild’s New Music/New Places Fellow, and the Washington Post branded her “A clear, powerful pianist with a magnetic personality…worth seeing any time.”

Ms. Simmons is a native of Charleston, South Carolina. As an undergraduate at Northwestern University, she co-founded the percussion and dance ensemble Boomshaka! She was Miss Illinois and first runner up at the 2000 Miss America Pageant where she performed Chopin’s Etude in c-sharp minor, Op. 10, No. 4. Ms. Simmons holds a Master’s degree from Rice University, where she studied with Jon Kimura Parker, and completed her undergraduate studies under Sylvia Wang at Northwestern University.

Biography

As CAG’s New Music/New Places Fellow she has created several projects and presented them in a variety of venues. Her program Kandinsky and Scriabin: Hearing Color, Seeing Sound, which made its debut in the 2009-10 season, focuses on links between the creative arts, and The Rhythm Project is an exploration of percussive piano playing.

An extension of The Rhythm Project, Jade Simmons released her debut CD in March 2009 for E1 (formerly Koch Classics) entitled Revolutionary Rhythm, praised by [ Source 3 allmusic.com] as “a thought-provoking, entertaining, and fun debut that easily establishes Simmons as a major talent.” This recording of American composers features sonatas by Samuel Barber and John Corigliano, as well as works by Russell Pinkston (Tale Spin) and Daniel Bernard Roumain (Hip Hop Studies and Etudes).

In the 2008-09 season, Ms. Simmons toured the US extensively, visiting over 25 cities in more than 15 states, highlighted by recitals at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC, the University of Washington World Series in Seattle and the Detroit Institute of Arts. She also appeared as concerto soloist with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas and Music Director Alondra de la Parra at New York’s Town Hall. She was the web-host for the 2009 Van Cliburn Piano competition, becoming the on-line face of the Cliburn to introduce all the performances and conduct interviews throughout the 17-day event.

In 2007-08 Ms. Simmons presented The Rhythm Project at Symphony Space’s Thalia Theatre as part of the CAG/New Works Series and at the Gatehouse at Harlem Stage in a program specifically designed for students. Additional highlights included appearances at Ravinia’s Rising Stars Series and the Chamber Music Society of Little Rock, residencies with the Cliburn Foundation, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute (NY) and Oakwood College (AL), as well as a concerto engagement at Chicago’s Symphony Hall with the Chicago Sinfonietta performing Tania León’s Kabiosile. Other recent engagements include her debut with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra performing the Corigliano Piano Concerto and recitals at Symphony Space and Aaron Davis Hall.

Ms. Simmons is an advocate for the arts in education and created Mozart on the Move, a program used in Houston public schools. In spring 2007, she continued her educational activities under the auspices of the Van Cliburn Foundation’s “Musical Awakenings” series, visiting twenty schools throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth area in a program entitled Virtuosity. She is the founder of the national school program Where Do You Stand?! – a series of interactive presentations on topics from culture to the political climate which has led to numerous appearances on radio and television.

Revolutionary Rhythm

1. Revolutionary Rhythm: Rhythm Project Released March 2009 by E1 (formerly Koch Classics)

Track listing:
  1. Russell Pinkston
    Russell Pinkston
    Russell Pinkston is Professor of Composition and Director of the Electronic music Studios at the University of Texas at Austin School of Music.Pinkston is both an active composer and a researcher in the field Computer Music...

    : Talespin: Telltale
  2. Russell Pinkston
    Russell Pinkston
    Russell Pinkston is Professor of Composition and Director of the Electronic music Studios at the University of Texas at Austin School of Music.Pinkston is both an active composer and a researcher in the field Computer Music...

    : Talespin: Hot Topic
  3. Russell Pinkston
    Russell Pinkston
    Russell Pinkston is Professor of Composition and Director of the Electronic music Studios at the University of Texas at Austin School of Music.Pinkston is both an active composer and a researcher in the field Computer Music...

    : Talespin: Blissful Ignorance
  4. Russell Pinkston
    Russell Pinkston
    Russell Pinkston is Professor of Composition and Director of the Electronic music Studios at the University of Texas at Austin School of Music.Pinkston is both an active composer and a researcher in the field Computer Music...

    : Talespin: Morning After Songs
  5. Russell Pinkston
    Russell Pinkston
    Russell Pinkston is Professor of Composition and Director of the Electronic music Studios at the University of Texas at Austin School of Music.Pinkston is both an active composer and a researcher in the field Computer Music...

    : Talespin: Still Spinning
  6. Russell Pinkston
    Russell Pinkston
    Russell Pinkston is Professor of Composition and Director of the Electronic music Studios at the University of Texas at Austin School of Music.Pinkston is both an active composer and a researcher in the field Computer Music...

    : Talespin: Picking Up The Pieces
  7. Samuel Barber
    Samuel Barber
    Samuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...

    : Sonata For Piano, Op. 26: Allegro Energico
  8. Samuel Barber
    Samuel Barber
    Samuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...

    : Sonata For Piano, Op. 26: Allegro Vivace E Leggero
  9. Samuel Barber
    Samuel Barber
    Samuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...

    : Sonata For Piano, Op. 26: Adagio Mesto
  10. Samuel Barber
    Samuel Barber
    Samuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...

    : Sonata For Piano, Op. 26: Fuga: Allegro Con Spirito
  11. John Corigliano
    John Corigliano
    John Corigliano is an American composer of classical music and a teacher of music. He is a distinguished professor of music at Lehman College in the City University of New York.-Biography:...

    : Etude Fantasy For Solo Piano: Etude No. 1: For The Left Hand Alone
  12. John Corigliano
    John Corigliano
    John Corigliano is an American composer of classical music and a teacher of music. He is a distinguished professor of music at Lehman College in the City University of New York.-Biography:...

    : Etude Fantasy For Solo Piano: Etude No. 2: Legato
  13. John Corigliano
    John Corigliano
    John Corigliano is an American composer of classical music and a teacher of music. He is a distinguished professor of music at Lehman College in the City University of New York.-Biography:...

    : Etude Fantasy For Solo Piano: Etude No. 3: Fifths To Thirds
  14. John Corigliano
    John Corigliano
    John Corigliano is an American composer of classical music and a teacher of music. He is a distinguished professor of music at Lehman College in the City University of New York.-Biography:...

    : Etude Fantasy For Solo Piano: Etude No. 4: Ornaments
  15. John Corigliano
    John Corigliano
    John Corigliano is an American composer of classical music and a teacher of music. He is a distinguished professor of music at Lehman College in the City University of New York.-Biography:...

    : Etude Fantasy For Solo Piano: Etude No. 5: Melody
  16. Daniel Bernard Roumain
    Daniel Bernard Roumain
    Daniel Bernard Roumain is a classically trained composer, performer, violinist, and band-leader noted for blending funk, rock, hip-hop and classical music into an energetic and experiential sonic form. DBR is of Haitian-American heritage and he attended Dillard Center for the Arts in Fort...

     (DBR): Hip Hop Studies & Etudes: Hip-hop Study & Etude In D-sharp Minor
  17. Daniel Bernard Roumain
    Daniel Bernard Roumain
    Daniel Bernard Roumain is a classically trained composer, performer, violinist, and band-leader noted for blending funk, rock, hip-hop and classical music into an energetic and experiential sonic form. DBR is of Haitian-American heritage and he attended Dillard Center for the Arts in Fort...

     (DBR): Hip Hop Studies & Etudes: Hip-hop Study & Etude In D-Minor
  18. Daniel Bernard Roumain
    Daniel Bernard Roumain
    Daniel Bernard Roumain is a classically trained composer, performer, violinist, and band-leader noted for blending funk, rock, hip-hop and classical music into an energetic and experiential sonic form. DBR is of Haitian-American heritage and he attended Dillard Center for the Arts in Fort...

    (DBR): Hip Hop Studies & Etudes: Hip Hop Study & Etude In B Minor

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