Jessica Phillips

Jessica Phillips won her position in the clarinet section of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in 2001. She graduated cum laude from Barnard College, Columbia University, where she was also enrolled in the joint lesson program with Manhattan School of Music as a student of Ricardo Morales. She performed as Acting Principal Clarinet of the MET Orchestra during the 2014-2016, 2011-2013, and the 2003-2004 seasons. In 2013, she received the honor of having her chair at the Metropolitan Opera named by Ruth and Harvey Miller.

She has appeared as Guest Principal Clarinet with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Luke’s Orchestra, American Ballet Theater, Santa Fe Opera, St. Bart’s Music Festival, American Symphony Orchestra, Caramoor, and the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. In addition, she can be heard performing E-flat clarinet on the Emmy Award winning televised broadcast with The All-Star Orchestra on PBS. She has also served as a faculty member at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, and is a faculty coach at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland.

Experienced in nonprofits, labor relations, media communications, and strategic planning, she served as Chair of the MET Orchestra Committee for five years, where she led two negotiations and produced creative, often paradigm-shifting solutions to complex issues. A member of the clarinet section of the MET Orchestra for almost twenty years, Jessica also co-founded MET Orchestra Musicians, a nonprofit organization through which the MET Orchestra gives back to underserved communities in and around New York City. Under her collaborative leadership, it developed into a groundbreaking online presence through innovative storytelling, relevant arts programming, and community-based collaborations. She continues to consult to artists and arts organizations through her consulting business, K+P Strategy.

Ms. Phillips serves on the clarinet faculty at the Mason Gross School for the Arts at Rutgers University and The Juilliard School specializing in E-Flat Clarinet. Working with many different clarinet companies, Ms. Phillips is a Backun and Silverstein Artist, and was the lead consultant in designing a new E-Flat Clarinet reed for D’Addario. She continues to work on E-Flat Clarinet products for Backun Musical Services and can be seen on the Backun Musical educational web series on youtube.com. For more information, visit jessicaphillipsclarinet.com.