Jessica Wright

My audition

Growing up in Armidale I was surrounded by music, both at school and in the wider Armidale community. Throughout school, I was deeply involved with music ensembles, including choir, orchestra and string quartet, and a phenomenal string ensemble under the direction of Deidre Rickards OAM as well as a member of the Armidale Youth Orchestra.

I also performed in combined school musicals and in my final year of school, I played Eponine in the Armidale School’s production of Les Miserables. For my HSC, I studied Music 2 (Band 6) and Extension (E4).

Where I am now

When I finished school in 2013, I had no idea what I wanted to study so I took a gap year in 2014 as a teacher’s assistant. Through various opportunities working with the music department, I discovered my passion for music education. Coming from a musical community in the country, I was keen to spread my wings and study music education in the ‘big smoke’. I received a scholarship to be the Convenor of Chamber Music Program at St Andrew’s College, Sydney Uni where I have resided for the past three years.

My experience

When I first started at the Con in 2015, I didn’t really know anyone! Over the past three years, I have met so many talented musicians (both students and professionals) and made so many great friends!

Being a part of a small, supportive cohort in Music Education, my classmates and I have become close and our lecturers have shown an immense interest in our passions for music education, pushing us to strive for a contemporary approach to music education and teach to our strengths.

I was fortunate to learn violin from Janet Davies, who completely opened my eyes to the world of violin technique, so I have her to thank for assisting me in the reconstruction of my bowing technique (for the better!) and her musicality through executing a piece of music whilst performing.

My future

An interest I've developed over my time at the Conservatorium is teaching music in rural and remote areas throughout Australia, and also an interest in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. I hope one day to get top-quality music education out to these communities and spend some time doing songwriting projects, collaborating with students and encouraging them to write their own music, whether it be for an outlet or personal expression. Songwriting is a beautiful process.

The music educators I have been fortunate to learn from have inspired and engaged me in such a way that I hope to do the same for my future students, assisting them in developing their own love of music.

My advice

If anyone is considering studying music, definitely start conversations with people in the industry to expose yourself to the endless possibilities a career in music has to offer – not just in performance, but education, music journalism, producing, sound engineering and more. The world is totally your oyster. Music is such a vibrant, diverse and joyous thing, everyone loves it.