About
Jessica Shand is a flutist, producer, composer, and researcher based out of Providence, RI. She merges contemporary experimental classical, jazz, and electronic performance practices with mathematics and computer science to (de)construct sound as a relational interface between and among humans and machines. Her debut release, a solo album entitled Transmutations (February 2025), unravels vast perceptual landscapes out of flute sound to probe the boundaries of auditory perception.
An inaugural fellow with the Steve Jobs Archive (2023-24), Jessica’s work spans live performance, recorded albums, sound design for film and video games, gallery installations, and academic publications. At 20, she became one of the youngest-ever invited speakers at the annual joint meeting of the American Musicological Society and Society for Music Theory (AMS-SMT), where she presented her early writing on artificial creativity and improvising machines. She has since co-authored publications for the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) as well as the inaugural creative AI track at the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS).
Jessica has been a Wm. S. Haynes Co. International Young Artist since 2016 and has received recognition as a flutist from organizations and ensembles worldwide, including first-prize awards in competitions hosted by the National Flute Association, NPR’s From the Top, National YoungArts Foundation, Music Teachers National Association, and more. She has performed with such ensembles as the American Modern Opera Company, American Repertory Theatre, International Contemporary Ensemble, Aspen Music Festival and School, and National Youth Orchestra of the USA, and has appeared in duos and chamber ensembles with such artists as Claire Chase, Susie Ibarra and Yvette Jackson. Her original compositions and songs have been commissioned and presented with Esperanza Spalding’s Songwrights Apothecary Lab Ensemble, Harvard University New Music Ensemble, Berggruen Institute, PVD Fringe, and more.
Passionate about equity and sustainability across local and global arts ecosystems, Jessica has held positions with the Artistic Freedom Initiative, Advisory Board for the Arts, and Density Arts. She been invited to give talks, community workshops, and classes at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, UMass Amherst, RIOT! RI, MIT Abstracts, and more.
Originally from Colorado, Jessica holds an M.S. in Media Arts and Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2024) and a B.A. in Mathematics and Music from Harvard University (2022). While at Harvard, she studied flute performance with Paula Robison as part of the highly selective joint program with the New England Conservatory. Other cherished mentors include Claire Chase, Vijay Iyer, Esperanza Spalding, Miguel Zenón, and Brook Ferguson.
Photo: James Day (June 2023).
Contact
For inquiries, booking, or more information, or to get in touch, please contact jessica.shand@gmail.com.