Accoladed as “a brilliant performer” with performances “sketching through sound the paradoxical beauty of heartache and the joys of human existence,” Charleston, South Carolinian-native Brianna Jaeger is hailed as an ‘extremely passionate’ and ‘magnetizing force’ at the keyboard. A versatile entrepreneur, she is an active recitalist, chamber musician, and composer currently located in Washington, DC. Brianna is currently on faculty at The Catoctin School of Music and The International School of Music.
Since beginning formal training at the age of 10, Brianna has received international recognition as a solo artist and collaborative pianist, appearing in festivals, competitions, and venues across the globe, such as Carnegie Hall – Stern Auditorium, Piccolo Spoleto Festival, Ludlum Concert Series, Schlosskirche, Steinway Piano Gallery, South Carolina Piano Festival, International Blasmusik Festival, and the St. Theresa Recital Series. She is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, the National Honor Society of Music, and Alpha Chi, for academic research.
Brianna has an affinity for new music and creative collaborations, especially featuring avant-garde chamber music and electroacoustic projects. She has frequently performed and premiered music by recent and living composers, including artists such as Benjamin Broening, Olivier Messiaen, Emma Lou Diemer, György Ligeti, and Charity Morrison. As a member of the new music ensemble EDGE at Shenandoah Conservatory, Brianna performed with New York based orchestra Alarm Will Sound on their production of John Luther Adam’s ‘Ten Thousand Birds’.
Brianna holds the Master of Music in Collaborative Piano from Shenandoah Conservatory. She received her undergraduate degree in Piano Performance, Magna cum laude from the Horton School of Music at Charleston Southern University. She has received additional education from The Royal Conservatory of Music, for which she is a candidate for the ARCT Diploma in Piano Performance. Her primary music educators have included Dr. Alexander Bernstein, Ieva Jokubaviciute, Dr. Brad Parker, Dr. Nicholas Holland III,
Dr. Richard Pressley, Graeme Burgan, Eugene Koester,
Olivia Cresswell, and Dr. Myungsook Stoudenmire.
In addition to her keyboard career, Brianna is an avid conductor, composer, and arranger. Her conducting experiences have led to performances throughout the Southeast, guest directing collegiate instrumental ensembles, choirs, and chamber music. As a composer, her ventures have led to her music being performed across the east coast, including scores written for solo piano, marching band, and various chamber groups. Most recently,
her collaborative joint work, Mountaintop for Mezzo Soprano, Piano, and Dance, was commissioned by Shenandoah University to be performed for the
Class of 2021. Her Six Lamentations for Soprano and Solo Piano are presently scheduled for premiere in early 2022. Brianna’s compositional style is heavily influenced by the music of Messiaen, Ravel, Arvo Pärt, Kaija Saariaho, and traditional Jewish and Israeli folk music.
In other entrepreneurial pursuits, Brianna is the founder and artist of ‘Feather-Brained Creations’, creating whimsical visual art, including hand painted theatrical backdrops, art gallery exhibitions, and graphic design. Her artwork has been displayed at the Charlotte and Phillip Hanes Art Gallery in Winston-Salem North Carolina, StageLights Theatre in Greensboro, North Carolina, and has received publication in the Avalon Literary Magazine and Sefer Literary Journal. In addition, she is an avid researcher and author on topics such as Holocaust musicology, philosophy, and music theory. When she is not at an instrument, you can find her in a café with a book, hiking, stargazing, or playing with her three unruly parrots.
You can find Brianna’s performance here.