Jessica Bodner, described by the New York Times as a “soulful soloist,” is the violist of the Grammy award-winning Parker Quartet. A native of Houston, TX, Jessica began her musical studies on the violin at the age of two, and then switched to the viola at the age of twelve because of her love of the deeper sonority.

In 2014 Jessica joined the faculty of Harvard University’s Department of Music in conjunction with the Parker Quartet’s appointment as the Blodgett Quartet-in-Residence. She has most recently given masterclasses at institutions such as the Eastman School of Music, Longy School of Music, Amherst College, University of Minnesota, and at the El Sistema program in Venezuela. Individually, Jessica has appeared at the International Viola Congress, as a guest of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, and been a finalist for a Pro Musicis Award, and as a founding member of the Parker Quartet, she has won a Grammy Award, the Cleveland Quartet Award, the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, and the Concert Artists Guild Competition. With the Quartet, Ms. Bodner has recently appeared at venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Library of Congress, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall in London, the Musikverein in Vienna, and Seoul Arts Center, and has appeared at festivals including Caramoor, Yellow Barn, Perigord Noir in France, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. Jessica holds degrees from the New England Conservatory, where her primary teachers were Kim Kashkashian and Martha Strongin Katz.

Outside of music, Jessica enjoys cooking, practicing yoga, biking, and hiking with her husband, violinist Daniel Chong, and their vizsla, Bodie.

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