Biography

Jessica Rudman entered the world of music composition when her percussion teacher issued a bet: “If you can write something that I can’t play, then I’ll give you a dollar”.   After much thought, loud banging, and almost illegible scribbling, Ms. Rudman won that dollar and got hooked on writing music.  She began formally studying music composition and theory during her senior year in high school, and continued at the University of Virginia where she was awarded the Brander Wyatt Morrison Prize in Music (2004). 

Ms. Rudman holds a B.A. with Distinction in Music from the University of Virginia, a MM in Music Composition at The Hartt School of Music, and an Artist Diploma also from Hartt. Previous teachers include Matthew Burtner, Robert Carl, Stephen Gryc, Ingram Marshall, Walter Ross, and Larry Alan Smith.  Ms. Rudman has also participated in masterclasses with Frederic Rzewski, John Anthony Lennon and Joseph Schwantner.  In 2006, she had the opportunity to work with George Tsontakis (composer-in-residence) at the Ernest Bloch Music Festival (Newport, OR), where her piano trio Times of Speaking and Silence was premiered. 

As an active teacher, Ms. Rudman is currently serving as the Graduate Teaching Fellow for The Hartt School Music Theory Department. She is also a faculty member at the Hartt School Community Division and an instructor for the Inter-District Music Composition Program.  While at the Ernest Bloch Music Festival in Newport, OR, she volunteered with the Young Musicians Program for local high school students interested in music.  Ms. Rudman also has experience composing for youth ensembles, recently completing a residency with The Hartt Suzuki Guitar Orchestra. She previously worked with The Hartt Community Division Concert Wind Ensemble, who premiered her work Through the Looking Glass in 2005. 

Recently, Ms. Rudman has been partnering with artists of other disciplines.  During a collaboration between The Hartt School Dance Department, Composition Department, and Contemporary Players Ensemble, Ms. Rudman worked with choreographer Alicia Rezendes to present a fully staged dance to a work for wind ensemble entitled In Dark Places, Light.  Additionally, Ms. Rudman's music can be heard in Jeffrey Paternostro's short films "7-21-03" and "The Somnambulist".

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