Jess joined Noteworthy in January of 2023, but she’s already made some great memories with Noteworthy; she has especially enjoyed filming the Women’s History Month Melody. Because she sang with the Jazz Ensemble and her Acapella group in college, Jess got the feeling she wanted to sing in a group again. After some research, she found Noteworthy and the rest is history! Jess has been on quite a journey around the world before finding herself in the cozy rehearsal studio at the Whole Shebang in South Philly.
Originally Jess is from Cranbury, a small town in New Jersey famous for its Revolutionary War History. Unfortunately, they don’t actually grow cranberries anymore (although Jess insists they did at some point). Growing up, she developed an interest in music from her dad, an amateur folk singer, and from singing in choir as a kid. For college, she went to Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. While there, she continued her interest in music, singing with the Jazz Ensemble and her a cappella group.
Following college, Jess traveled all around the world for work, living in Ecuador, Brazil, Portugal, and Thailand (those are just the ones that she’s been in for at least 3 months that this interviewer was able to quickly scribble down). She now calls Philly home and works in marketing for higher education. She even bought a house with her partner Ed, who apparently found their new home on Reddit of all places.
In her free time, you may find Jess singing, of course, but also working on building tables at a makerspace in Kensington and cultivating her love of languages. Jess is an aspiring polyglot; she speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and some conversational French and Thai. She loves hanging out at the Asian Market in FDR Park, which reminds her of her time living in Thailand.
When asked why Jess loves to sing, she remarked how singing is a great way to connect with people and it gives you an almost meditative feeling once you get into the flow of things. Jess ended our conversation with a few words of wisdom about singing, which I think we all can take to heart: singing is not about being perfect but about the joy of it.
