Biography
Dr. Jessica Payne is currently the adjunct professor of Tuba and Euphonium at the University of Northern Colorado, where she teaches applied lessons and music theory courses. Jessica is very involved in the tradition of brass banding in North America. Currently, she performs with the Athena Brass Band, Fountain City Brass Band, Rocky Mountain Brassworks, and the Free State Brass Band. She has been invited to solo with the Free State, Western Reserve, Arkansas Highlands, and Natural State bands. Jessica currently serves as Secretary and the Professional Development Chair for the North American Brass Band Association. Jessica has recently finished her last semester of her Doctor of Musical Arts in Euphonium Performance at the University of Kansas, where she received the first DMA in Euphonium Performance from the institution.
As a performing artist, Jessica has toured with several brass bands, euphonium quartets, and as a soloist. Recently, her duo, The Galley Brass Duo, has performed at the International Women鈥檚 Brass Conference in Hartford, Connecticut. Dr. Payne is also an active member of the International Tuba and Euphonium Association (ITEA). Most recently, she has performed at the ITEA Conference in Valencia, Spain with the Athena Brass Band. She has also presented solo recitals, duo recitals, chamber recitals, and lectures at several regional tuba and euphonium conferences, including the North West, Midwest, Great Plains, Heartlands, and Washington DC regional conferences.
Dr. Payne is also an avid composer and arranger. She has self-published works for brass quintet, brass sextet, brass band, tuba and euphonium ensembles, and solos for various instruments. As an arranger, Dr. Payne works to bring works for other instrumentations into the euphonium canon. Her most recent project was a set of Lili Boulanger art songs arranged for euphonium. She presented a recital of this work at the Midwest Regional ITEA conference. In addition to her work as a composer, Jessica also enjoys supporting new music from underrepresented composers. One of her passion projects is commissioning new works for the euphonium, the euphonium duo in particular.
Education
DMA, euphonium performance – The University of Kansas
MM, tuba performance – The University of Kansas
MM, euphonium performance – The University of Central Arkansas
BM, euphonium performance – The University of Akron