About

Jessica T. Carter (b. 1992) is a composer, performer (violinist & mezzo-soprano), and educator from Indiana described as evocative and lyrical by Aspire Magazine and Apricity Magazine, respectively, who is swiftly making a name for herself. Specializing in concert music, film scoring, and musical theatre, Jessica's aim and goal in music is to intersect the relationship between vitriol and compassion through empathy, highlighting the lives marginalized children while deepening the universal understanding of the marginalized adult through a sonic engagement that extends the narrative of human nature and the message of hope. ​

In both 2018 and 2019, Jessica Carter was the recipient of the Craig and Carol Kapson Bicentennial Scholarship in Music Composition through Indiana University South Bend. In 2020, she was the winner of the Indiana University South Bend Symphonic Composition Competition with the work, "Rancor and Triumph", Concerto for cello and orchestra. That same year, Jessica was published for her ground-breaking research entitled, "Concert Music of the Civil Rights Movement: Uncovering the Erasure of Black American Composers in the United States." Later that year, she released her first EP on Spotify and Apple Music entitled, "Memories" after her piano sonata written in 2019. In 2021, Jessica was commissioned by Maestro Alastair Willis and the South Bend Symphony Orchestra to write Shadows, as a part of Celebrate Local, a concert featuring seven local composers. In October of the same year, Jessica was awarded a music composition fellowship with the MusicaNova Orchestra in Phoenix, AZ under maestro Warren Cohen. In 2023, Jessica's award-winning cello concerto, Rancor and Triumph received its international premiere at the Tonal Composers Festival in Brazil.  In 2024, Jessica was awarded a residency through the prestigious Visby International Centre for Composers in Sweden in which she will serve in 2025. 

​

Jessica has attended the Vail Music Festival in Vail CO, the Atlantic Music Festival in Waterville, ME, the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival in South Bend, IN, the Ravinia Music Festival in Chicago, IL, and most recently the IRCAM multidisciplinary festival ManiFest in Paris, France. She has been commissioned by several organizations including Crossing Borders Music, Castle Of Our Skins, Trio Village, the South Bend Symphony Orchestra, and Ensemble Concept/21. Jessica has had the privilege of working with several renown composers such as Marilyn Shrude, David Ludwig, Clara Iannotta, Augusta Read Thomas, and Billy Childs. Jessica holds a Bachelor's of Arts in Music from Bethel University and a Master's of Music in Music Composition under the tutelage of Dr. Jorge Muniz from Indiana University South Bend.