Jessica Morel, D.M.A.

Music Director and Conductor
​Symphonic Orchestra and Concert Orchestra

A passionate music educator, Dr. Jessica Morel was appointed Music Director of the Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra in July 2021. She comes to GPYO after two seasons leading the Youth Philharmonic of the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestras Program and three seasons as the Music Director of the Winston-Salem Symphony Youth Orchestras Program. In addition to her experience as a youth orchestra conductor, Dr. Morel served as the Assistant Conductor for the Winston-Salem Symphony for three seasons, and as the Visiting Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Evansville. She has appeared as a guest conductor with the Charlotte Symphony, Charlotte Ballet, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Amarillo Symphony, Spartanburg Philharmonic, Evansville Philharmonic, and the Abilene Philharmonic. Recent engagements include conducting 14 performances of The Nutcracker with the Charlotte Ballet and leading a masterworks concert with the Rock Hill Symphony in South Carolina. She has also served as a cover conductor for the Jacksonville, Memphis, and Portland Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Capital Philharmonic in Trenton. In addition to her role with GPYO, Dr. Morel currently teaches music courses as an adjunct instructor at Seton Hall University and is on faculty with the Honors Music Program at the Westminster Conservatory of Music.

Previously Dr. Jessica Morel was honored with being named a competition winner of the 2014 International Conductors' Workshop & Competition held in Atlanta, and in 2015, she was chosen as the Assistant Conductor for the Hot Springs Music Festival in Arkansas. She has studied at competitive summer music programs, including the Eastern Music Festival with Gerard Schwarz, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music with Marin Alsop, the Atlantic Music Festival, and has conducted internationally with orchestras in Ukraine, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. Jessica Morel earned her Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting from the University of North Texas, where she studied with David Itkin and Clay Couturiaux. She received her Masters in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Nevada Las Vegas under the guidance of Taras Krysa, and her Bachelors in Music Education from Indiana University, where she studied flute with Kathryn Lukas.
Email: [email protected]