Award-winning pianist and storyteller, Jessica Roemischer, only moved to Kiama in August, and has already organised a concert to share her gifts in a unique musical experience, Celebrating the Earth.

New York-born and raised, Jessica has been travelling to Australia for many years and first living in Melbourne where she worked as a photographer, music teacher, and lecturer.

For the last five years she lived in Sydney, establishing a successful piano teaching school, but felt in need of a sea change.

“Kiama feels like home in a way few places have,” she says.

“People have been so welcoming.”

The connection she immediately felt, which led her to move here just three weeks after a reconnaissance visit, has been reinforced by discovering Hollywood costume designer Orry Kelly comes from Kiama.

“Amazingly, my grandmother was also a theatrical costumer, having emigrated from Russia about the same time that Orry Kelly arrived in the USA. I did a little research and learned that their studios were three blocks apart in New York City. They knew each other, and even worked on the same Broadway production! That was a sign that I’d found the right place to live!”

With a background in the arts that began with her grandma, Jessica has performed as a pianist and storyteller around the world, from street corners to concert halls and, since the pandemic, in live-streamed events. Every performance is custom created, as she blends story and music inspired by the people for whom she’s playing. 

 Audience participation is often an element of the concert, with an invitation extended for a volunteer to come up and improvise with Jessica at the keyboard (no experience necessary!). This unusual and compelling aspect of the event allows Jessica to illustrate her conviction: the light of creativity and beauty is present in every single person.

In addition to her concerts, Jessica offers piano and creativity mentoring to students of all ages. Through piano teaching, writing and the arts, she supports a person in realising that they are, indeed, creative.

She is dedicated especially to working with young people and people with disabilities, an endeavour for which Jessica has won several awards and recognitions.

“Youth face real challenges and pressures today,” she explained.

“My goal is to support a student in expressing their unique ‘voice,’ as they find their own source of self-confidence and strength now and into the future.”

Sunday, 25 September, Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, 92 Manning St, 2.30pm. Tickets $10 at the door. All welcome. 

For more about Jessica, visit www.pianobeautiful.com