Jessica Schaeffer

Jessica's great passion is sharing the power and joy of music-making with people of all ages. She is a faculty member at Holy Names University Preparatory Music Program and maintains private teaching studios in the East Bay and San Francisco. She is also a certified Dalcroze Education instructor, a wide-ranging somatic-based method that continually informs and inspires her own practice as a performer and teacher. Jessica is a community programs faculty member at The Crowden School in Berekely and is president of the Northern California chapter of the Dalcroze Society of America. She serves the harp and music education community as a committee chair for the Dalcroze Society of American and for the Bay Area Chapter of the American Harp Society.

Memorable moments from her 20+ year career include performing with the National Symphony Orchestra of Bolivia and teaching at the La Paz Music Conservatory, recording two albums with the harp-and-bassoon duo “The Harpoons”, and collaborating with The Broken Consort, a nationally-touring experimental chamber ensemble.

Jessica is one of the top entertainment harpists in the greater bay area with a wide-ranging repertoire, tasteful arrangements of popular music, and general versatility. She has played for celebrities and for those without a home. She has played for audiences of two up to 20,000. She has worn ball gowns for black-tie events and performed for events where the suggested attire is 'athleisure'. She has played San Francisco from top to bottom. (Literally. Everything from cocktails on the top of the Salesforce tower to busking at BART). Jessica performs with numerous groups throughout the bay area, including choirs, orchestras, and chamber ensembles. Jessica is also part of the harp team at UCSF medical center, lead by bay area harpist Laura Simpson, which provides live harp music in the hospitals 4 hours a day, five days a week.