JESSICA USHERWOOD ('99)

Jessica Usherwood, soprano, began her vocal studies at Lee University under the guidance of Virginia Horton. Upon graduation with a Bachelor of Arts in music, she studied with Valija Bumbulis of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee and completed a master’s degree in Voice Performance and Vocal Pedagogy at the Chicago College of Performing Arts of Roosevelt University.

Jessica has appeared with the Chicago Opera Theater, at the Chicago Cultural Center, and in the celebrated Harris Theater, credited for contributing to the performing arts renaissance in downtown Chicago. Recently she inaugurated Lee University's Distinguished Alumni Recital Series, where she presented a program of American art songs.

Jessica is the soprano of the International Chamber Artists (ICA). With ICA she has performed works including Mozart's Requiem, Britten's Les Illuminations, and Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915. During the 2010-‐2011 ICA season, Jessica performed works including Ralph Vaughn Williams' Ten Blake Songs and Giovanni Pergolesi's Stabat Mater. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University.