In her eyes, musicking, an inter-relational process of becoming, is inextricably linked to ethical life. A composer, vocalist, educator, and interdisciplinary scholar pursuing her doctorate at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Jasper Sussman is dedicated to the development and application of socially meaningful voicework. Her forthcoming dissertation—an integration of critical, ethnomusicological and creative research—explores the concept and implications of understanding the choir as a socially-driven ecosystem. Her teaching, though in service of diverse populations, invariably embraces a constructivist approach: by centering students' realities, a decentering of assumed repertoire, psychoacoustic essentialism, and biologically and culturally-based prejudice ensues.
Jasper has served as Composer-in-Residence for the Madison Choral Project and Gateway Opera. While pursuing her degree, she has served as Community Projects & Operations Coordinator for The Choral Commons, Associate-Instructor for the Concert Choir at UCSD, Education Director, Soloist, Contributing Composer and Core Member of Sacra/Profana, After School Teaching Artist at A Reason To Survive (ARTS), Voice Coach and Health Consultant for San Diego Children’s Choir, Guest Instructor for various choral and contemporary music courses at UCSD, the University of San Diego (USD) and San Diego State University, and as Soloist for USD Choral Concerts, San Diego New Music, Solana Beach Presbyterian Church, and various UCSD hosted events. She’s performed as a Vocal Fellow for the N.E.O. Voice Festival under the direction of David Harris, and at the Big Sky Choral Initiative under the direction of Donald Nally. She holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Lawrence University, and is also an alumna of the Atlantic Music Festival, the National Puppetry Conference, and the Brevard Music Center where she’s worked with composers John Adams, Melissa Dunphy, Kevin Puts, Rand Steiger, Kristin Kuster, Ken Ueno, Stephen Rush, Fred Sturm, Joanne Metcalf, Evan Chambers, Robert Patterson, and Robert Aldridge. Jasper’s vocal pieces are published in the Justice Choir Songbook, and by See-a-dot Music Publishing, Inc. and ala fady press.
