Dr. JESSICA PIERPONT
Conductor, Artistic Director &
Founder of Vermont Chamber Artists
Conductor, Artistic Director &
Founder of Vermont Chamber Artists
Dr. Jessica Pierpont is the Artistic Director, Founder and Conductor of the Vermont Academy of Choral Music since 2016 and Director of Choral Activities at Vermont State University- Johnson. She began her academic teaching career having worked for six years as a conductor, educator, professional singer, scholar and also numerous collegiate, professional and community ensembles throughout the United States and Canada. She frequently works as a guest conductor and clinician for workshops, clinics, choirs and orchestras. Under her direction her ensembles have toured Canada, the US and have been selected to perform around the continental United States.
During her time teaching elementary and middle school general music in 2016, she founded Vermont Academy of Choral Music where the Vermont Chamber Artists and Vermont Girls Choir was born. She designed academic courses and a virtual lecture series, called 4ward Voices during the COVID-19 pandemic. 4ward Voices was a virtual platform for education and discussion that brought to consciousness important issues, historical musical examples, innovative ideas and teaching techniques, and workshops, all cultivating a strong foundation through music. This lecture series included choral conductors, teachers, directors, advocates, and inspirational speakers from all around the world. This series allowed students and musicians to continue learning and making important musical connections through a choral platform while also creating various musical opportunities once the pandemic subsided.
Jessica held a position at McGill University, as a course lecturer teaching choral conducting to undergraduate students from 2020-2022. During her appointments at McGill University and Director of Choral Activities position at Johnson (VSU) she has taught courses and masterclasses in conducting, music history, vocal methods and pedagogy, and has been a guest artist and lecturer with various academic institutions and choral organizations. Additionally, in her appointment at Johnson she has designed academic courses that allowed students to travel to Montréal and explore links between choral conducting, choral singing, teaching and programming to enhance leadership amongst singers and choral conductors.
Dr. Pierpont remains an active professional choral singer with focuses in chant, Baroque, Renaissance, and Modern eras. She has sung with various professional vocal ensembles such as ProCoro in Edmonton Alberta and in Montréal, Les Rugissants, Bach Festival of Montréal, Voces Borealis and The Church of Saint Andrew and Saint Paul. In addition, she has attended and participated in many music workshops for both conducting and singing, including Oxford University Workshops, Westminster Choir College summer workshops, Yale University 21C, ACDA regional collegiate workshops, Beyond the Baton with Diane Wittry and was selected as a conducting fellow in the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival hosted by the Yale School of Music.
Dr. Pierpont received her Bachelor of the Arts in Piano Performance from Castleton University, studying conducting under Dr. Sherrill Blodget. She received her Master of Music degree in choral conducting at the University of Arizona and was the graduate assistant of the Arizona Choir under Dr. Bruce Chamberlain. She earned her Doctor of Music in Choral Conducting from McGill University graduating with a 4.0 GPA under Dr. Jean-Sébastian Vallée and Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt. Her areas of research include the evolution of treble choirs, the large works of Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams and the evolution of choral leadership. Her dissertation was titled, The Evolution of Choral Leadership- a study of Situational Leadership and Leader Autonomy Support in the Context of a Modern Choral Setting.
SUSAN MONTGOMERY- GROUT
Accompanist- Sharon Division
Accompanist- Sharon Division
Susan Montgomery-Grout is joining our team for her first season having recently returned to her native Vermont after living in Boston, Raleigh and Brooklyn for the last 40 years. She began playing at the age of 6, learning from her mother Jean, an accompanist with the Randolph Singers for many years. Ms. Montgomery-Grout received her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Boston University. She studied song literature and the art of collaborative piano playing with Allen Rogers, solo performance with Lenore Engdahl and baroque ensemble accompanying with Thomas Dunn. Susan has extensive choral accompanying experience and was the pianist for 3 choral groups at the Longy School of Music for over 10 years during her tenure in Boston as well as numerous pit orchestras and local performing groups. Her other musical interests include flute, organ, singing with the Randolph Singers and recently has taken up the mandolin. When not practicing, Susan enjoys skiing, yoga and cooking.
MELISSA DICKERSON
Accompanist- Burlington Division
Accompanist- Burlington Division
Soprano Melissa Dickerson performs extensively as a soloist and collaborative pianist throughout Vermont. Recent vocal appearances include “First I’ll Try Love” recitals with pianist Samuel Whitesell, the rarely performed Grande Messe des Morts by Francois-Joseph Gossec with the Burlington Choral Society, Händel’s Messiah with the Vergennes Community Chorus, Mozart’s Mass in C minor with Oriana Singers, and Mahler’s 2nd and 3rd symphonies with the Green Mountain Mahler Festival. As a pianist, Ms. Dickerson collaborates with area vocalists and instrumentalists in recitals, competitions, festivals and special events. Ms. Dickerson is excited to collaborate this season with the Vermont Chamber Artists as their rehearsal pianist. She has performed with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Chorus as their accompanist and also worked closely with the young artists of the Opera Company of Middlebury. She collaborates as a singer-pianist with Finnish-Canadian soprano Emili Losier in Duo Toivo. Ms. Dickerson received her Bachelor of Arts in voice performance from North Greenville University in South Carolina. An avid church musician, Ms. Dickerson leads the music ministry at Faith United Methodist Church in South Burlington. She maintains a teaching studio for voice and piano at the University of Vermont as well as her private studio in Milton, Vermont.