Classical pianist Jade Simmons has toured the U.S. extensively, highlighted by concerts on the Ravinia's Rising Stars series, the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC, Merkin Hall, and the Detroit Institute of Arts. She has appeared as concerto soloist with the Dallas Symphony, the Chicago Sinfonietta at Chicago's Symphony Hall, the Philharmonia Orchestra of the Americas, and the Imperial Symphony Orchestra. Simmons has also performed in New York's many alternative spaces including Symphony Space, Harlem Gatehouse, Le Poisson Rouges, Joe's Pub, and Brooklyn's BamCafe.

Jade's multiple talents make her a true Renaissance woman of the millennium. She founded the Impulse Artist Series, was the winner of the 2009 Best Non-Profit Arts Series, is a writer and lecturer, and created Emerge Already!, offering career building advice to new artists. In the summers of 2009 and 2011, the world got to know her as the webcast host for the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and the Tchaikovsky International Competition.

Jade is a native of Charleston, South Carolina and completed her undergraduate work in piano performance at Northwestern University under Sylvia Wang. She was also Miss Chicago, Miss Illinois, and first runner-up at the 2000 Miss America Pageant. Ms. Simmons holds a Master's degree from Rice University, where she studied with acclaimed pianist Jon Kimura Parker.

Show full bio

Hide full bio