Dr. Jessica Morel is an American conductor who has garnered renown not only for her spirited podium presence, but also for her profound impact on professional, collegiate, and youth orchestras alike. Highlights of her work with professional orchestras include serving as the Assistant Conductor for the Winston-Salem Symphony from 2016-2019, where she led classics, pops, educational, and family concerts, and serving as a frequent guest conductor for the Charlotte Symphony and the Charlotte Ballet. Additionally, Morel has held guest conducting engagements with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Amarillo Symphony, Spartanburg Symphony, Rock Hill Symphony, and she will conduct the Tucson Symphony and the Long Bay Symphony in 2026. As a cover conductor, she has worked with the Fort Worth Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Memphis Symphony, Portland Symphony, and the Capitol Philharmonic.
Most prominently, Dr. Morel’s dedication to cultivating musical excellence shines through her work as a music educator. She currently serves as the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Musicopia String Orchestras in Philadelphia, a position she has held since 2024. Other previous educational positions include Music Director of the Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra, Music Director of the Winston-Salem Symphony Youth Orchestras, Conductor for the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestras. She is known for blazing a track record of exciting growth with youth orchestra programs, most notably with the Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra, where she more than doubled enrollment in just 18 months. Her reputation for both musical excellence and community engagement has placed her in high demand as a music educator and clinician and across the country. Dr. Morel served as the Visiting Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Evansville from 2015-2016, and has led multiple honors orchestras, opera productions, and musical theater productions.
A Los Angeles native, Dr. Jessica Morel began her career as winner of the 2014 International Conductors’ Workshop and Competition in Atlanta, and as an Assistant Conductor for the Hot Springs Music Festival with Peter Bay. Throughout her education and early career, she worked with leading maestros around the world, including invitations to the Eastern Music Festival with Gerard Schwarz, the Cabrillo Festival with Marin Alsop, the Atlantic Music Festival, as well as international opportunities to conduct orchestras in Ukraine, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.
Based in New Jersey, Dr. Morel currently serves as a Music Lecturer at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, and as the Artistic Director of the Musicopia String Orchestras in Philadelphia. She holds degrees in Orchestral Conducting from the University of North Texas (DMA), the University of Nevada Las Vegas (MM), and a Bachelor’s in Music Education from Indiana University.
Most prominently, Dr. Morel’s dedication to cultivating musical excellence shines through her work as a music educator. She currently serves as the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Musicopia String Orchestras in Philadelphia, a position she has held since 2024. Other previous educational positions include Music Director of the Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra, Music Director of the Winston-Salem Symphony Youth Orchestras, Conductor for the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestras. She is known for blazing a track record of exciting growth with youth orchestra programs, most notably with the Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra, where she more than doubled enrollment in just 18 months. Her reputation for both musical excellence and community engagement has placed her in high demand as a music educator and clinician and across the country. Dr. Morel served as the Visiting Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Evansville from 2015-2016, and has led multiple honors orchestras, opera productions, and musical theater productions.
A Los Angeles native, Dr. Jessica Morel began her career as winner of the 2014 International Conductors’ Workshop and Competition in Atlanta, and as an Assistant Conductor for the Hot Springs Music Festival with Peter Bay. Throughout her education and early career, she worked with leading maestros around the world, including invitations to the Eastern Music Festival with Gerard Schwarz, the Cabrillo Festival with Marin Alsop, the Atlantic Music Festival, as well as international opportunities to conduct orchestras in Ukraine, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.
Based in New Jersey, Dr. Morel currently serves as a Music Lecturer at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, and as the Artistic Director of the Musicopia String Orchestras in Philadelphia. She holds degrees in Orchestral Conducting from the University of North Texas (DMA), the University of Nevada Las Vegas (MM), and a Bachelor’s in Music Education from Indiana University.