Meet the Faculty
jessica israels
(920) 424-3036
israelsj@uwosh.edu
B.A., M.M.; Jessica Israels began her musical career at the age of 10 as a member the San Francisco Opera children’s chorus. She made her adult professional debut in Nunsense at the Society Hill Playhouse in Philadelphia, and since then has performed several roles in operas and musicals, including Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Madame Herz in The Impresario, and Sarah Brown in Guys & Dolls.
Drawing upon her experience as a performer, Jessica has also acted as music director for several concert and musical theater productions, including An Evening of Jazz & Theater, Let the Good Times Roll, and 1940’s Radio Hour.
While attending Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, Jessica won a variety of awards and competitions for classical voice, including the Western Washington University Concerto Competition, the Bellingham Music Club Scholarship, the Seattle Civic Opera Competition, and the Whatcom Symphony Concerto Competition. Jessica’s lifelong devotion to jazz has resulted in many notable performances as well. As a teenager she sang in concert with Voicestra at Davies Hall in San Francisco, and with Bobby McFerrin at the Paramount Theater in Oakland. She sang backing vocals for Claudio Roditi at the 1995 Bellingham Festival of Music in Bellingham, Washington, and returned to the festival in 1998 and 1999 as a soloist with singer Denzal Sinclaire and pianist Miles Black.
Between 2000 and 2006, as a member of the Soldiers’ Chorus of The U.S. Army Field Band, Jessica was a featured soloist in performances with Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops, at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with Marvin Hamlisch and the National Symphony Orchestra, and at the Florida International Festival with the London Symphony Orchestra. She also sang backup vocals for numerous artists including Wynonna Judd, Chris Isaak, and Vanessa Williams. She performed on a regular basis as a soloist and assistant director of VocalEase, the official vocal jazz ensemble of The U.S. Army Field Band. Jessica received her Master’s degree in Choral Conducting at Valdosta State University, in Valdosta, Georgia, where she taught voice and the vocal jazz ensemble. Upon graduating she was honored to be the College of Arts featured presenter at VSU’s Graduate Symposium, and received the 2009 Outstanding Graduate Student Award for the Department of Music.
Please visit www.jessicaisraels.com for more information.