Pianist Jessica J. Yam is equally at home with solo and chamber repertoire, and has garnered accolades on the national and international level, including the Chopin Foundation of the United States scholarship, in which she was one of two national recipients in the early 2000s. She has been a guest artist with the Baltimore Symphony, MusicaNova Orchestra, New England Philharmonic, Symphony of the Southwest, and Young People’s Symphony Orchestras. In 2013, she established a duo dedicated to song literature with tenor Bernard Holcomb, an alumnus artist-in-residence at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Yam was also the pianist for Windy City Opera’s inaugural season’s performance of Puccini’s La Bohème in Chicago. Her most recent chamber undertaking, Æterna Sirius, is a piano duo she formed with Elias-Axel Pettersson in 2017. Committed to both mainstream literature and commissioning new works by living composers, they have a recording project in the making. The pair has concertized and taught masterclasses throughout North America, including Arizona, British Columbia, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Québec, and Vermont.
During summer seasons, Yam maintains an active performing and teaching schedule. She is Artistic Director of Arizona Piano Institute, where she joins internationally-acclaimed artists such as Nelita True, Elisabeth and Eugene Pridonoff, Norman Krieger, Eckart Sellheim, Dian Baker, and Yuri Kot in teaching, lecturing, and performing—this year features the inaugural Concerto Competition during the Festival. In 2019, she will also be on faculty at the Adamant Music School, where she will teach at their summer festival, which includes a roster of pianists of global renown.
In her work as a scholar, Jessica presents talks, lecture recitals, and conferences seminars on myriad topics such as Hummel’s influence on Chopin’s early literature, the history of piano technique, and an analysis of Rachmaninoff’s Second Suite for Two Pianos. She has taught courses in song literature, piano repertoire, and vocal diction, focusing on English, French, German, and Italian.
Avidly engaged in the community, Yam has served in numerous positions for Arizona State Music Teachers Association, including Vice President and Chairman of the 2016 State Conference. She has been a guest lecturer, performer, and masterclass teacher for the organization, and has collaborated with other international guest artists, MTNA’s CEO, and publisher FJH. Yam has also assisted the Chopin Foundation of the United States, Southwest Piano Festival, and the Steinway/Avanti Piano Competition. She frequently adjudicates competitions and music festivals, including the James R. Anthony Honors Recital Competition, Arizona Study Program, and Jackie McGehee Concerto Competition.
Yam received her musical training from New England Conservatory, Eastman School of Music, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Arizona State University. Her principal teachers include Robert Hamilton, Douglas Humpherys, Faina Kofman, and Yoshikazu Nagai. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance.
During her 11-year tenure on faculty at Arizona State University, Dr. Yam was also a piano professor and vocal coach at Southwestern College for 7 years. In addition to teaching at ASU, Yam instructs piano, theory, and solfège privately at her home studio in Tempe, AZ.