July 30th — Grammy-winning composer, violinist, and curator Jessie Montgomery (CRF 2023) is on the move! Jessie is currently the 2025 composer-in-residence at the La Jolla Music Society in La Jolla, California—an appointment that marks their SummerFest’s first African-American composer-in-residence. At the 2025 SummerFest, she is leading a special Takeover event at The JAI on August 7th and debuting her “Concerto Grosso” on August 8th. La Jolla writes that the piece is “a contemporary reimagining of the Baroque concerto grosso form, where individual voices emerge from and return to the ensemble in a dynamic interplay of textures and timbres. This modern take honors the genre’s roots while embracing a fresh, expressive language that reflects today’s diverse musical landscape.”
This comes after a summer of performances across the country that featured her compositions including, most recently, at the 2025 Carmel Bach Festival, the Grand Teton Music Festival, and Chamber Music Pittsburgh’s Juneteenth Celebration along with compositions by fellow Fellow and composer Daniel Bernard Roumain (CRF 2024).
This fall and winter, she will be represented by the New Jersey Symphony at the The Festival of the Moon’s “Moonrise: A Celestial Celebration” on October 4th, Chicago-based Third Coast Percussion at the Center for the Art Performance (UCLA) on December 6th, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra on February 7th and 8th.
Today, the Kaufman Music Center also announced Jessie is their 2026 Artist-in-Residence. This spring in New York City, she will teach masterclasses; lead rehearsals, collaborative projects and community events; and play two concerts. On April 29th, she will perform with young musicians from Center, and on May 1, she will perform an eclectic program with her ensemble as The Everything Band.
And finally, on June 11th, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra will perform the North American premiere of Cello Concerto.
Image via the Kaufman Music Center.