Press & News
November Artist Profile: Jessica Lee
Who influenced you most?
Without a doubt, my parents and sister. Their love and support made it possible for me to pursue what I love doing and become who I am. Above all else, they taught me that there is no better way to live your life than to cultivate the gifts you were given, do something that you're truly passionate about, and share it with others around you. You can't choose your family and they can't choose you, so I feel incredibly lucky to have been placed with them!
If not a musician, what occupation would you choose?
Once in a while, I think I might enjoy opening a small bakery, but when I think better of it, I come to the conclusion that the 3AM wake-up calls to shape bread loaves and proof croissant dough might be a bit too much of a change to my current lifestyle! Other times, I think I might enjoy being a psychologist or social worker.
When not playing the violin, what would someone most likely find you doing?
Probably cooking, baking, walking around this little town of ours in the hopes of discovering more quirky and new things, catching up with good friends
What books have you read most recently?
No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I haven't finished it yet (it's HUGE), but it provides a fascinating glimpse inside the lives of Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt before, during, and I'm guessing, since I haven't gotten there yet, after World War II. It's probably the number one way to pass the time on any mass transit, although since I read on my iPad, I do turn to the Delta Sky Magazine during take-off and landing. Or since it's getting a bit chilly, I might be knitting. With non-metal knitting needles, of course.
Who are your favorite composers?
Besides the usual suspects, I would have to say that I love Leos Janacek and Bela Bartok. They have such distinct musical voices that both speak to me as a listener and allow me speak as a performer in such a satisfying way. Their folk-based approach is especially evocative in my opinion, and paints such vivid images for all who experience their music. Both of them traveled around their own villages and all over the countryside to collect the music of their people in such ways as recording speech patterns of peasants and transcribing it with pitch and rhythm or recording actual peasant folk songs. Though all composers take from their surroundings and environment in some way or another, Janacek and Bartok did so to a large degree and really gave the rest of the world a beautiful glimpse into the soul of their lands.
What is your favorite NYC destination?
For me personally, any street in the city is a favorite destination. Each one is rife and saturated with history, stories both eloquent and trite that come from people of all nations, walks of life, ages, beliefs, etc. I never walk down one without discovering something new. It's like a constantly evolving exhibition that lets one take as much or as little as one wishes at that very moment.
What are the 5 most listened to songs on your ipod?
I could only come up with three during the interview, although I promise that I do listen to my iPod all the time! #1 - my all-time favorite recording, which is the Prokofiev D Major Violin Concerto by Josef Szigeti; #2 - any song by Jeff Buckley; #3 - Radiohead Paranoid Android, perhaps.
