Jade Simmons

Jade spent the first few years of her career performing as a classical concert pianist. Following an artistic epiphany, she pivoted from playing the piano to impress audiences, to using the piano as the vehicle by which to provide the inspiration, information and entertainment that profoundly moves them instead. The results have been, well darn impressive. No stranger to pushing boundaries to see bold results, this concert pianist turned world changer is brought in by the likes of corporations like Mass Mutual, Royal Bank of Canada, DOW, Raytheon, the Hershey Company, Genentech, Valic, Pfizer and Nationwide to redefine purpose, inspire seismic shifts in mindset and activate audiences to go out and instantly start living more consequential lives of impact. The one-of-a-kind artist has built a one-of-a-kind career garnering diverse recognition from unlikely places. She's played renowned halls, including the hallowed ones of the White House and the US Supreme Court and her genre-bending concert adventures that span Rachmaninoff to Rap attract diverse audiences of all ages and backgrounds. For her work on and away from the stage, Essence magazine featured Jade alongside former First Lady Michelle Obama as a part of their "Style & Substance List". As one of the rare classical artists invited to perform at the taste-making South by Southwest Festival, her show was ultimately branded one of the "Best of SXSW 2014". She's starred in a Broadway-style musical called Lillette's Rhythm Club and she can be heard portraying Nina Simone's classical years in the Oscar-nominated documentary What Happened Miss Simone? In her inimitable career as a concert pianist and as a media host, Jade has remained committed to expanding the boundaries of Classical music and its presentation. She's the new host for American Public Media's brand new podcast Decomposed and for NYC's top rated station WQXR she has created Courageously Classical, a live performance and interview show that will feature the world's most adventurous musicians.