Biography

Jessika Brust has been charming audiences around the world, by land and by sea, for nearly three decades. She landed her first regular gig singing in a band at the tender age of seven, and has been on stage nonstop ever since. Her study of classical music began when she picked up the violin, and worked her way through the Suzuki curriculum by high school graduation. 

 

Jessika attended Elon University, majoring in Environmental Studies, and minoring in music and theatre. It was during this time that she first became addicted to singing opera, while studying under Jessica Van Ord, Pamela Henderson, Lisbeth Brittian Carter; and workshopping the roles of Rosalinda from Die Fledermaus and Liu from Turandot under Dr. Hallie Hogan.  

 

Also while at Elon, Jessika was fortunate enough to be taken under the wing of the jazz great, vibraphonist Jon Metzger. While in his classes, she coordinated jazz combos, studied jazz theory, began to improvise, and fronted the big band. All the common sense and street smarts she ever needed to survive as a musician, she learned from the jazz department.

 

Upon graduation, Jessika attended the American Institute for Musical Studies in Graz, Austria; where she concentrated on opera performance with the instruction of Alison Acord and the coachings of John Kolody and Wayne Wyman.

 

Professionally, Jessika toured the U.S. fronting a show band for many years, and began playing with other ensembles of several branches of music. Simultaneously she picked up roles like Mrs. Cratchit in Ira David Wood III’s musical rendition of A Christmas Carol, Alma in The Music Man with the North Carolina Symphony, Diana in Next to Normal, and Joan Fletcher in Gershwin’s Strike Up the Band with the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra. She made her professional opera debut with Verdi’s Aida, produced by North Carolina Opera, understudying for the world renowned Angela Brown in the role of Aida, and singing in the chorus.

 

Jessika then left the U.S. to work at sea as an acclaimed performer and producer of shows, which included repertoire from opera to Appalachian to funk, and everything in between.

 

Jessika now lives and works in Philadelphia, and is excited to be a part of this beautiful city's musical renaissance!