Flute with Jessica P.

Jessica earned her Master of Music from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where she studied with master teacher Leone Buyse on a full scholarship. She graduated from Princeton University, where she was a University Scholar, in the spring of 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Classics and a Certificate in Music Performance. Jessica has been the Principal Flutist of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, the Piccolo and 2nd Flute player of the Sarasota Opera Orchestra, and a primary extra/substitute flutist for the Kansas City Symphony. In the summer of 2013, she placed third in the National Flute Association's Young Artist Competition. In 2007, she performed at the Kennedy Center as a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. She was a Miyazawa Flutes Emerging Artist from 2008-2013. Jessica has received additional training at several summer festivals, including the Yellow Barn Music Festival, the Music Academy of the West, the Aspen Music Festival, the National Repertory Orchestra, and the Tanglewood Music Center, where she met her husband, Principal Percussionist of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Joe Petrasek. Jessica and Joe perform together as the Petrasek Duo, and have given recitals and masterclasses at several universities. Jessica has been a finalist twice for the position of Principal Flute of the Seattle Symphony. She was a finalist for Principal Flute of the Oregon Symphony, a super-finalist for Piccolo of the Houston Symphony, and was most recently the runner-up for Principal Flute of the Knoxville Symphony. You can hear some of her performances on her website, JessicaPetrasek.com. Jessica has a huge passion for teaching, which she began at age 18. She has had students of all ages and levels, and has honed her teaching techniques, tailoring them to the specific needs of students whose manners of learning vary greatly. She is consistently surprised at what she discovers through teaching, even after 22 years of playing the flute. In addition to keeping a private flute studio, Jessica has been a tutor of Latin and Ancient Greek for five years, and has substitute taught. Her main hobby is English-style horseback riding, specifically Eventing.