Jessie Montgomery is a decorated composer and violinist whose works are frequently performed around the world by leading musicians and ensembles. Montgomery was born and raised in Manhattan’s Lower East Side in the 1980s, during a time when the neighborhood was at a major turning point: artists gravitated to this hotbed of artistic experimentation and community development. Her parents, a musician and a theater storyteller, took her to rallies, performances, and parties where neighbors, activists, and artists gathered to celebrate and support the movements of the time.

From this sprung Montgomery’s unique voice; her music interweaves classical music with elements of vernacular music, improvisation, poetry, and social consciousness. She is an acute interpreter of 21st-century American sound and experience.