Queens, NY-based violist and composer, Jessica Pavone, explores the tactile and sensory experience of music as a vibration-based medium. Inspired by processes centered on intuition and instinct, her music channels these ideas by focusing on how music feels when played and heard, integrating her experiences as an instrumentalist into works that transcend time. Pavone has dedicated her practice to exploring alternative avenues for creative musical expression and “has made a career of redefining the possibilities for her instrument” (Steve Smith, National Sawdust Log). Pavone’s music has been premiered at prominent NYC venues such as: Abrons Art Center, ISSUE Project Room, the Kitchen, the Noguchi Museum, Pioneer Works, Roulette, and the Socrates Sculpture Park.


Grants and Commissions: New York State Council on the Arts (2024), Queens Arts Council (2024, 2022, 2020), New York Foundation for the Arts NYC Women’s Fund (2023), MATA Festival (2023), Foundation for Contemporary Arts (Emergency Grant, 2021), New Music USA (2015), Tri-Centric Foundation (2015), Experiments in Opera (2013), and the Jerome Foundation (2011). Residencies and Fellowships: Uncool Switzerland (2025), Herb Alpert/Ragdale Prize (2024), Hambidge Fellowship (2024), Marble House Project (2024), Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts (2024), Loghaven Fellowship (2023), Ragdale (Trager Fellow 2022), and Ucross Foundation (2020).