Jessica Findley Yang

Jessica Findley Yang, from Wichita, KS, is the new Principal Bassoonist of the Central City Opera in Central City, CO. She was formerly the Second Bassoonist in the Knoxville Symphony, and served as Acting Principal Bassoon of the KSO from January-May 2020. She also previously held the position of Second Bassoon in the Chattanooga and Lansing (MI) Symphonies. Jessica earned performance degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and the University of Kansas, and her teachers have included William Winstead, Eric Stomberg, Martin Garcia, Maya Stone, Nathaniel Zeisler, and Merrilee Tuinstra.

Jessica has attended several summer music festivals including Festival Napa Valley, Sarasota Music Festival, Castleton Opera Festival, and Texas Music Festival, where she was the winner of the TMF concerto competition. She was also the winner of the KU Concerto Competition, the MDRS Young Artist Competition, and won second place in the Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition in 2016 (and was an MQVC semi-finalist in 2014).

Jessica has been a guest performer in many professional orchestras, including the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Dayton Philharmonic, North Carolina Symphony, Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, and the New World Symphony, as well as many other regional groups throughout the midwest. She was also the bassoon instructor at Xavier University and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, teaching bassoon and reed-making.

Currently, Jessica lives in Denver with her husband, toddler, and two cats, and sells handmade bassoon reeds through her website www.jiffyreeds.com. When not sitting at the reed desk or practicing bassoon, she enjoys hiking, reading cookbooks, trying new recipes, and browsing at thrift stores.