Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jade Wesley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jade, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
There are two big moments I can remember when the spark was created. The first one, I was watching a Whitney Houston documentary with my parents. She sang her song “All the Man I Need” Live at HBO’s Welcome Home Heroes Concert Special in 1991. All the musicians were so in sync and fully in the moment. It was so wonderful to see. This was the point in Whitney’s career when she was basically at her peak. The way the audience looked at Whitney in complete awe was astonishing. And her voice, THE Voice. It was like the Holy Spirit was speaking through her vocal folds. That was the moment when I decided that whatever she had just done on that stage, I wanted to do that. I’ll never forget what I felt that night. Looking back on that moment, I see someone from around the same area where my family grew up, from the same state as myself and my family, and someone who looks like me, doing the thing.
The second time was when I was in Europe with my French and Spanish class in my junior year of high school. We went to France, and now we have just arrived in Spain. That night, we went to watch a Flamenco show. This was my first time seeing something like this live. The singers were wonderful and sang with so much soul. There was a violinist as well and she absolutely flourished! I remember seeing her and getting so excited! As far as I remember, this was my first time seeing a violin outside the Western Classical element. There were dancers as well that were full of joy. The performers included the audience during the show and it made me feel seen. After watching that show, I told myself that I will never let go of music no matter what I do.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Hello beautiful people! My name is Jade Wesley, and I’m from a small town in Jersey called Glassboro. I will be finishing my Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Performance with a focus in Violin in May from the University of North Texas!!!! As far as I remember, I was always surrounded by music. Whether it was my family physically surrounding me with toy instruments, or quizzing me in the car when a song would play to see if I remembered all the elements of the artist and of the song, music was and will always be in my life. I was introduced to so many sections of music growing up including gospel, a HUGE love for musical theatre, jazz, blues, hip-hop, RnB, country, and more. My music palette was so full from such a young age and I had no idea how it would shape my future.
I started singing when I was four, piano playing came when I was about six, and the violin found me at nine. I say “found me” because I wanted to be in band and play the saxophone, but they put me in orchestra by accident. One might say that it all worked out. I was always in choir at school and in church growing up. The only time I stopped doing choir was to start orchestra. While in orchestra, I was recommended to audition for the Fine and Performing Arts Academy which was in collaboration with my hometown college, Rowan University. This program allowed me to take lessons and college courses at the University. This is what sparked my love for Western European Classical Music! I started these lessons in seventh grade and the college courses in my junior year of high school and went until my senior year for both. I did my college auditions with the help of my teachers and then started my freshman year at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in Violin Performance and Orchestral Music Education. Then, I transferred to UNT my sophomore year in school and added my degree in Vocal Performance.
Being at a school like UNT, you simply can’t escape jazz. Every time I would go see a concert, it would feel like home. So why not get into it? I joined the Jazz Strings Ensemble and it felt like an “escape.” Then, I started to get really serious about jazz and saw a potential career path. I auditioned for the Jas Aspen Academy in collaboration with the Frost School of Music. I sang and played my violin in the First Annual Afro-Caribbean Session led by Etienne Charles and met some of my favorite people. What a glorious time we had! Even though I don’t like the term “genre,” I never thought that something would meet my love for musical theatre. It looks like it has found its match. Music will be coming soooon!
According to my colleagues and my professors, what sets me apart is how I connect with the music that I perform. I spend timeless hours researching the backstory of the pieces of music that I perform, and on the composers to see why they wrote what they wrote. I’ll play the accompanying part to see if there are any connections between my part and my collaborator(s), and to see how I want it to be played. This allows each and every piece of music to mean something special to me. It comes from my soul, and it shows. Having a life outside of music is so important as well. Those moments can teach you more than any teacher could. The Lord gave us this beautiful life, why not live it to its full potential?
No matter where I go I bring my violin with me even though it isn’t my primary instrument. On all my gigs I will always sing and incorporate my violin. Whether it is playing some tunes on my violin, singing and playing my violin at the same time, or live looping, I love to try new things! People love to hear orchestral instruments outside of a classical setting, and this helps set me apart. Even though I am about to graduate from my undergraduate after five years of studying, I am forever a student.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
This is such a good question and I’m SO glad it is being asked! I can’t speak for all artists, or for even all musicians but hopefully this reaches where it needs to! I cannot stress how important it is to go to events especially that your local musicians are hosting. People who aren’t artists will see this as just another musician putting on another show, but for us this is work. While we are grateful to do the things that we love for work, we still need support in all ways. There is so much individual practice, group rehearsals, advertising, recording, equipment, our OWN money, and learning new things along the way that go into one show. There is too much talent in the world for things to go unnoticed. Come to our events! Listen to our music! Repost our postings! Pay the cover for the show AND tip! For you, it may seem like just money out of your pocket. But you are helping us get to where we want to be. Imagine once we get there, you get to say you helped us. Because that is exactly what your support does! You never know what you will get from going to a show. Music moves people in different ways. I remember times when I didn’t feel like going to a concert but I went to support my colleagues. Those are some of the most memorable concerts I have been to. Completely inspiring, and tears ran down my face. To think that I almost missed a blessing like this?
In my time living as a musician and as I make deeper connections in the industry, I realize how the music world is just one big circle. I never know who I may meet every time I have a gig, go to a jam, or even a dinner, that could change my life forever. And as an audience member, you never know who YOU could know that could help us make that connection! I have had friends and families who aren’t musicians give me insane connections that help advance my career.
As a musician, there are many elements that we have to take care of outside of music to help us get our name out there. This includes advertising, marketing, leadership, social media management, and research, just to name a few. The presence of music in social media has grown expeditiously in the past decade, especially when Covid-19 first hit. Some heavy connections are made through social media. Help share our music! All the things I said above apply here. You never know who might check out that video that we musicians post, and you repost on your story. You never know who might see the flyer for the concert that you repost from us, or who might come when you tell a family/friend about it.
One of the things that I really admire about Texas is how music is valued here. From a young age, children are taught how important music is and how important music education is. This needs to be incorporated everywhere. Be nice, be kind, be supportive, and share the wealth!
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Absolutely! Like I said before, I’m not the fondest of the term “genres,” but it is there for a reason. At first, I would usually say there is a lack of representation of people of color in the classical music community. As I grow more as an artist and do more research, I see that there are so many of us! But we are not supported the way our white colleagues are. There is still music being discovered, many books NEED to be updated, and there needs to be better ACCESSIBILITY to our works. A lot of people think black classical composers only write spirituals or contemporary music. Some people don’t even know that black composers existed pre-1800s. This goes for art songs, choral music, operas, madrigals, motets, ALL. OF. IT. We were alive back then, who said we weren’t writing any music?
When I started to notice this energy at my institution, I made it my mission to show the representation on social media and on my upcoming senior recital on Friday, April 25, 2025 at 5:00pm CST in Voertman Hall at UNT! These stereotypes need to be broken. I remember one of my friends said that their first time hearing of a composer of color was when they played one of Florence Price’s Symphonies. It was their sophomore year in college. Mind you, I didn’t just say black composer, I said composer of color. If you don’t see a problem with this, YOU are a part of the problem. There is so much beautiful music out there that hasn’t been performed because of a lack of support and discovery. We must do our part and dig a little deeper to give the recognition that the music deserves, even if it takes you more time to research than usual. These composers spent time and effort on their music. Don’t let it go to waste.
Now this is not only in classical music. Believe it or not, black jazz musicians get plenty of dismissal. Imagine having to fight for something that YOU created. I know I didn’t create jazz, but I have talked to so many of my black colleagues in jazz (in particular black women in jazz) and we can all agree that in certain settings there is something “in the air.” We are treated differently whether it is in a bad way, or an attempted “good way”. Or say at the university level (depending on what school you go to) there is a lack of representation of black faculty. No matter what genre I am playing I will show representation for my people and women! We put too much work into the art for it to go unnoticed.
Now, why am I not the biggest fan of the term “genre?” If you are a musician and you constrict yourself to stay in one setting, you are limiting how you can communicate. Music is all about communication. Why stay in one place when you can communicate with the whole world?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/jadeawesley
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jadeawmusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jade.wesley.758
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jade-wesley
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jadeawesley
- Other: https://jadewesley.modelingfolio.com
Image Credits
Lauren Salzaar @laurenanitaphotography
Steve Mundinger (Aspen, Colorado)
MAPS Modeling Studio NYC @maps_nyc
Ronald Reed @ebysslabsphotos