Biography

A Connecticut native, Jessica is a freelance flutist, conductor and teacher in Fairfield County. She has earned music degrees from the University of Michigan, the Royal Academy of Music (London), and the University of British Columbia (Vancouver). In addition to her private teaching, Jessica  teaches at Fairfield University, the Norwalk and Naugatuck Valley community colleges, and Jackson State Community College (TN). She also conducts the flute choirs of the Stamford Young Artists Philharmonic program.

Her orchestral experience includes the Vancouver Symphony, Burnaby Symphony (principal flute), Michigan Pops Orchestra (principal flute), and the Rome Festival Orchestra. An avid chamber musician, Jessica was flutist with the Wolverine Winds quintet, the Goodenough Chamber Orchestra, and Trio Euterpe, and currently plays with the Tempest Flute Ensemble and the Cumulus Ensemble. She performed for Sir James Galway at the University of British Columbia's FluteFest in 2005, and won the 2007 National Flute Association's Piccolo Masterclass Competition, leading to a performance and class with Walfried Kujala at the annual convention in Albuquerque, NM.

A firm advocate of music education, Jessica has worked as a band director in the Westport, Connecticut Public Schools, and has led workshops and classes for middle and high school students. While earning her graduate degrees, she taught flute for King's College (University of London), and taught flute and music theory for the University of British Columbia. Her varied and extensive background have helped her develop a strong, effective and fun teaching style through her 19 years of teaching experience. Jessica's research into the flute's English performance history, the basis of her M.M. and D.M.A. degrees, won her the National Flute Association's 2008 Dissertation Competition. She has written for Pan, the magazine of the British Flute Society, and for The Flutist Quarterly.

Copyright © 2011 Jessica Raposo       Jessica@JessicaRaposo.com