Jonathan Wright, Co-Founder & Co-Director
The Kabbage director chair
Jonathan Wright started studying violin at the age of 5 and has spent over 25 years teaching and performing. An active performer, he has played with the Orchestras of Macon, Valdosta, Columbus, Charleston, Atlanta, Hilton Head, and Savannah, among others. In addition to orchestral work, he has had the opportunity to perform with artists like Christina Aguilera, Phil Collins, Sarah McLaughlin, Josh Groban, The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, to name a few. Mr. Wright has been on over 25 domestic and international tours as a principal violinist and contractor, most recently, a month long tour in Japan. In June of 2015, he took a position as agent/manager with OmniPops Entertainment.
As a teacher, he has maintained an active teaching studio since 2000. A number of his students have gone on to pursue careers in music in the fields of performance, education, and therapy. He is also a frequent guest clinician for the Cobb, Cherokee, Gwinnett, and Fulton County school systems.
As a teacher, he has maintained an active teaching studio since 2000. A number of his students have gone on to pursue careers in music in the fields of performance, education, and therapy. He is also a frequent guest clinician for the Cobb, Cherokee, Gwinnett, and Fulton County school systems.
Dr. Jessica Sherer, Co-Founder & Co-Director
The UPS director chair
An adventurous flutist hailed for her "versatility and depth of understanding" (composer Eva Kendrick), Dr. Jessica Sherer has earned a reputation for taking on many unique and varied musical projects. Jessica is principal flutist with Sinfonia Gulf Coast, piccoloist with the Albany Symphony and Spartanburg Philharmonic, assistant principal flutist with the LaGrange Symphony, and performs regularly with orchestras throughout the Southeast, including the Atlanta Opera Orchestra, Greenville Symphony, South Carolina Philharmonic, Columbus Symphony, and Symphony Orchestra Augusta. She has also appeared with the New World Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic, and Columbia Symphony.
As a chamber musician, Jessica has performed with members of the Atlanta Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Metropolitan Opera. She is co-founder of Anon Ensemble, a flute, viola, and bassoon trio whose commissioned work, Juntos, by Eva Kendrick, was recently awarded the Judith Lang Zaimont Prize for the International Alliance of Women in Music New Music Search. A strong advocate for new music, Jessica has commissioned and premiered works by many composers, including Eva Kendrick, Nicole Chamberlain, Marc Yeats, Richard Applin, Michael Daughterty and Ladislav Kubik. She has performed with Atlanta's Chamber Cartel, the Pierrot Lunaire Ensemble (in residence at Berklee College of Music), and Longitude New Music Ensemble (Cambridge, MA).
A passionate educator sought after for her innovative and imaginative teaching style, Jessica has combined her own experience with elements of Alexander, Feldenkrais, Body Mapping, Dalcroze Eurhythmics, and Gordon Institute research, to develop unique methods for holistic and efficient learning. Jessica currently serves on the faculties of Emory University and Agnes Scott College, and maintains a large and selective private studio, where her students have consistently won competition prizes and positions in prominent youth orchestras, summer festivals, music schools, and all-state ensembles. She has also served as a teaching artist for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and given masterclasses at Florida State University, Tennessee Tech University, Valdosta State University, and others. Jessica is an Artist in Residence at the Orfeo Music Festival in Vipiteno, Italy.
A long-time advocate of social justice through music, Jessica founded the Play It Forward Scholarship Program, Inc., a nonprofit which provides private lesson scholarships in exchange for hour-for-hour volunteer work, for which she won the 2016 National Flute Association Arts Venture competition. She served as the Flute Teaching Artist for the Atlanta Music Project, an El Sistema organization providing intensive music training for children in underserved communities, from its inception in 2010 until 2015, and she represented AMP as a speaker at the 2012 TEDx Centennial Park Women conference.
Jessica holds a D.M. from Florida State University, a M.M. from the Longy School of Music, and a B.M. from Boston University, and has studied at the Brevard and Bowdoin music festivals. Her principal teachers include Robert Willoughby, Eva Amsler, Laura Gilbert, Marianne Gedigian, Linda Toote, Elizabeth Goode, and Trygve Peterson. She can be heard on recordings with the FSU Symphony Orchestra (Naxos) and Chamber Cartel (independent).
As a chamber musician, Jessica has performed with members of the Atlanta Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Metropolitan Opera. She is co-founder of Anon Ensemble, a flute, viola, and bassoon trio whose commissioned work, Juntos, by Eva Kendrick, was recently awarded the Judith Lang Zaimont Prize for the International Alliance of Women in Music New Music Search. A strong advocate for new music, Jessica has commissioned and premiered works by many composers, including Eva Kendrick, Nicole Chamberlain, Marc Yeats, Richard Applin, Michael Daughterty and Ladislav Kubik. She has performed with Atlanta's Chamber Cartel, the Pierrot Lunaire Ensemble (in residence at Berklee College of Music), and Longitude New Music Ensemble (Cambridge, MA).
A passionate educator sought after for her innovative and imaginative teaching style, Jessica has combined her own experience with elements of Alexander, Feldenkrais, Body Mapping, Dalcroze Eurhythmics, and Gordon Institute research, to develop unique methods for holistic and efficient learning. Jessica currently serves on the faculties of Emory University and Agnes Scott College, and maintains a large and selective private studio, where her students have consistently won competition prizes and positions in prominent youth orchestras, summer festivals, music schools, and all-state ensembles. She has also served as a teaching artist for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and given masterclasses at Florida State University, Tennessee Tech University, Valdosta State University, and others. Jessica is an Artist in Residence at the Orfeo Music Festival in Vipiteno, Italy.
A long-time advocate of social justice through music, Jessica founded the Play It Forward Scholarship Program, Inc., a nonprofit which provides private lesson scholarships in exchange for hour-for-hour volunteer work, for which she won the 2016 National Flute Association Arts Venture competition. She served as the Flute Teaching Artist for the Atlanta Music Project, an El Sistema organization providing intensive music training for children in underserved communities, from its inception in 2010 until 2015, and she represented AMP as a speaker at the 2012 TEDx Centennial Park Women conference.
Jessica holds a D.M. from Florida State University, a M.M. from the Longy School of Music, and a B.M. from Boston University, and has studied at the Brevard and Bowdoin music festivals. Her principal teachers include Robert Willoughby, Eva Amsler, Laura Gilbert, Marianne Gedigian, Linda Toote, Elizabeth Goode, and Trygve Peterson. She can be heard on recordings with the FSU Symphony Orchestra (Naxos) and Chamber Cartel (independent).
Amanda Macon, Residence Life Coordinator
Passionate about music all her life, Amanda Macon started playing the flute at the age of 12. Her teacher, Cynthia Hopkins, of the South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra, helped her realize some of her goals through five years of formal training prior to her enrolling at Kennesaw State University in 2013. There she has been an active member of several ensembles in the university and Kennesaw area, with a heavy emphasis on chamber ensemble playing. Macon graduated in 2017 with a double major in Ethnomusicology and Flute Performance under Todd Skitch of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. She now works as a freelance musician in the Atlanta area, teaching privately, in various schools, and playing with chamber groups whenever possible.
Amy Ensel, Music Office Coordinator
Bio coming soon!
