Coloratura soprano Jessica Spafford has had success both nationally and abroad. She earned her doctorate in music performance, pedagogy, and literature from James Madison University in 2017. Since then, she has served as the department chair at both Judson College and at Emory & Henry University before joining the voice faculty at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. At TAMU-CC, she serves as coordinator for the voice area, directs the opera, teaches applied lessons, vocal pedagogy, and vocal literature. Prior to working at these institutions, Jessica also served as an adjunct professor at The University of Alabama, James Madison University, Mary Baldwin University, Bridgewater College, and Eastern Mennonite University. She was honored to receive the Lula & Alton Holley Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching while at Judson College. Dr. Spafford’s students have been finalists in the NATS National Student Auditions, earned full scholarships to R1 institutions to pursue graduate studies, secured positions with professional theatres and cruise lines, won various competitions, and merited music teaching positions around the nation.
When she was in the Appalachian region, she founded a regional opera company, Highlands Opera, and served as the organization's producer and associate artistic director from 2021-2024. The company focused on producing operas concentrated on accessibility, featuring regional artists, and collaborating with local businesses to create interactive events. With a special interest in new works and histories, Dr. Spafford has received grants to focus research on Appalachian Opera Houses and also for commissions of music by female composers.
In March of 2024, Dr. Spafford completed a masterclass tour in Europe at various locations in England and in Germany, including the Frankfurt Conservatory of Music. Jessica regularly serves as an adjudicator for voice competitions, including internationally in the
Philippines and Canada. She also recently presented at a conference in Hawai’i on vocal health strategies for music educators. In addition to her teaching career, she also pursues an active performing schedule. In recent years, she presented a lecture recital in Charlotte on commissioning new works, sang a recital in Chicago on Brazilian-Portuguese song, completed a project with the Bronx Opera, sang Gretel in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel with Luray Opera, performed on two consecutive holiday concerts with the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival as a soloist, and sang the U.S. premiere of Lauren Spavelko’s song cycle Baby Book at the Music by Women Festival. Jessica has served as the soprano soloist on Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Schubert’s Mass in G, on songs by Elizabeth Raum and Stephen Hartke—both with the composers in residence—and coached with Libby Larsen at Contemporary Music Festivals. She has performed in Dresden, Germany, having been recruited to sing the Queen of the Night with the Radebeul Landesbühnen Sachsen Theater in their production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. While abroad, she also performed the role of Lucy in Menotti’s The Telephone with the Mittelsächsisches Theater and spent time giving recitals in various cities in Germany and Austria. Her work has led to invitations to be the clinician for PMEA District Choir, to present a world premiere in Milwaukee of a song collection written specifically for her, and the production of an upcoming album.
Previously, she won the Columbus Opera’s young singer competition while at Ohio Wesleyan University and performed with the Central Ohio Symphony Orchestra. She went on to earn her Master of Music degree from Duquesne University, where she studied with Sari Gruber. Other prominent teachers include Anne Kopta, Marilyn Nims, and Dorothy Maddison. Jessica has performed other numerous leading roles in her career such as Soeur Constance in Dialogues des Carmélites, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Musetta in La Bohème, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Madame Herz in Der Schauspieldirektor, and Cunegonde in Candide.
Dr. Spafford is a native of western Pennsylvania. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, kayaking, visiting with her friends, cooking, traveling, and spending time with her beloved cat, Daphne.