JESSICA SHAND is a performer-composer and multimedia artist based out of Providence, RI. She merges contemporary experimental classical, jazz, and electronic performance practices with mathematical sensibilities to explore worldbuilding and un-worlding—the embrace of unraveling and destruction as modes of interrogating inherited structures.

An inaugural fellow with the Steve Jobs Archive (2023), Jessica’s output spans live performance, studio recording, sound design for film, gallery installations, academic publications, and community workshops. Her original work has been commissioned and presented by NASA (LunaSCOPE), Composers Now, the Harvard University New Music Ensemble, Berggruen Institute (LA), Non-Event (BOS), PVD Fringe Festival (PVD), New Ear :: SPATIAL (NYC), Oh My Ears (PHX), and others. Transmutations (2025), her debut EP, conceives of flutes and electronics as laboratories for sound, probing the boundaries of auditory perception. Her most recent work, How to Break (Almost) Anything (2026), is an experimental narrative film she co-wrote with director J Wang. In addition to acting and dancing in the film, she also composed and performed the live score with ensemble (flute, harp, viola, bass, drums).

As a flutist, Jessica is a Wm. S. Haynes Co. International Young Artist (2016-present) and has appeared with the American Modern Opera Company, American Repertory Theatre, International Contemporary Ensemble, and National Youth Orchestra of the USA, at the Aspen and Tanglewood Music Festivals, and more.

Jessica is passionate about access to uncensored creative expression and has held positions and volunteered with the Artistic Freedom Initiative, Advisory Board for the Arts, Density Arts, and RIOT! RI. She has been invited to give talks and workshops at the MIT Museum, MIT Nord Anglia Collaboration, Interlochen Center for the Arts, UMass Amherst, Colorado Flute Association, and more. Her public-facing research has also included writings on artificial creativity and improvising machines (AMS-SMT) and co-authored publications for the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) and the inaugural creative AI track at the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS 2023). 

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. She is now further developing her work at Brown University, where she is a third-year PhD student in Music and Multimedia Composition.

Contact
For inquiries, booking, or to get in touch, please contact jcsflute@gmail.com.