Jessye DeSilva

Each student possesses a unique voice, personality, and set of experiences, and therefore each may arrive at a healthy and efficient technique differently. A one-size-fits-all approach to the voice limits opportunities for individual artistic growth.

Jessye DeSilva joined the Conservatory in 2017 and is an assistant professor of voice for musical theater. They are a singer/songwriter and teacher who are passionate about the human stories found throughout diverse mediums such as opera, musical theater, rock, cabaret, and baroque concert repertoire. They earned their Doctorate of Musical Arts in voice performance and pedagogy at Temple University. Their doctoral monograph A Survey of the Current State of Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) Vocal Pedagogy Training at the Graduate Level examines the need to include contemporary and musical theater techniques in graduate-level voice pedagogy programs. Previously, they held teaching positions as a visiting assistant professor of musical theater voice at the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. DeSilva has a background in both contemporary (pop/rock/musical theater) and classical voice, and believes in the importance of a strong technical background as the key to achieving a freedom of expression in whatever genre a student chooses to pursue.

Recent Engagements

• Debut album Hoarfrost and Crocus Shoots released (March 2019)
• Featured performer at the Cape May Singer Songwriter Festival (Cape May, New Jersey, 2019)
• Blame It on My Wild Heart: A Stevie Nicks Cabaret (L'Etage Nightclub, Philadelphia, 2017)—Writer and performer    
• Carmen (Opera MODO, 2016)—Title role   
• Merrily We Roll Along (Temple University, 2015)—Music director/keyboards

Pronouns: they/them/theirs