Composition Lessons

Biography

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, composer Jessica Rugani traces her musical development from an early interest in piano, to a focus in clarinet, and finally to composition. She earned degrees in music composition from The Hartt School at the University of Hartford (D.M.A. 2018), New England Conservatory (M.M. 2011), and California State University East Bay (B.A. 2006). 

Jessica has long been interested in music instruction, both individual and in the classroom. She has taught private music lessons in the Bay Area for over 20 years to students aging from 5 to adult, on clarinet, saxophone, piano, theory, and composition. Each lesson is tailored specifically to a student’s needs and ability level, and she is experienced working with students with special needs. Many of her students have been first chair performers in their school ensembles. She has been a lecturer for the music department at CSU East Bay as well as Solano Community College. For the past year, she has written entertaining and informational audio scripts for the ed-tech company Gaiali on music topics, including playlists on the history of Jazz and Impressionism in music.

Compositionally, Rugani has written for varying ensembles, from the unusual bowed piano ensemble to the more traditional full orchestra, as well as much chamber music. In 2021 San Ramon Valley Unified School District commissioned her to compose Dawning of a New Day for string orchestra, dedicated to the students and teachers who persevered through remote learning. She was commissioned for several short solo works in 2020, including Dear Mom for solo cello written for Nick Photinos. Her works have been premiered on new music concerts in Jordan Hall and other venues in Boston, and performed in several states, including Connecticut, California, and Washington.

Jessica has worked with members of the San Francisco Symphony and the Kronos Quartet, and studied composition with Robert Carl, Michael Gandolfi, and Kurt Rohde. She currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family.

Teaching Philosophy

As a teacher, my ultimate goal is to enable the student to become so independent that I am no longer needed. I have several goals I set out to achieve: that students become more independent and self-aware, able to identify and address issues and begin to work them out; that students become aware of and more versed in relevant repertoire for their musical studies; and that students are able to engage more deeply in listening to music, and more aware of the theoretical workings, as are developmentally appropriate.

One of the ways in which I engage students in learning to listen more deeply to music is by using music they are likely to have already heard to illustrate new concepts. I believe relating concepts to music they already know helps students internalize better and makes them listen more critically to all kinds of music. Nothing is more satisfying than seeing a student’s face light up when concepts click into place and they understand.

I find the most effective way to teach students to teach themselves, to make them more independent and more aware, is to ask them questions. In private lessons, both composition and instrumental, I am always asking my students various questions like: what did you hear? How do you think you performed that? If you could change one thing about that performance, what would it be? Can you describe your tone? What is happening here theoretically? Why did you choose to do this here? By asking questions, the student has to think about what they hear or have written and articulate their thoughts. Upon completion of a course with me, I expect that students have gained terminology that allows them to better articulate their musical experiences, I hope that students continue to expand their musical horizons, and listen more deeply and critically to whatever music happens to cross their path. My goal is always to provide the tools, the knowledge, and how to find the resources, for students to continue to learn and engage on their own.