Night After Night: Everything, all at once.
Published on February 11, 2025
by Steve Smith | Share this post! 
“Third Coast Percussion presents the New York premiere of Montgomery’s Lady Justice/Black Justice, The Song, along with works by Jlin, Tigran Hamasyan, and the late Zakir Hussain, in a Zankel Hall program on February 27.”
Anyone could see that composer and violinist Jessie Montgomery has seemed mighty busy just lately, but an email that showed up yesterday put everything into perspective. Here in New York City this week, she’s got a new piece on the high-profile recital Julia Bullock is presenting tonight at Lincoln Center and a Composer Spotlight program at The Juilliard School. (You’ll find details in The Night After Night Watch, below).
Above and beyond those choice gigs, Montgomery has got a whole lot more coming up, here and beyond. Third Coast Percussion presents the New York premiere of Montgomery’s Lady Justice/Black Justice, The Song, along with works by Jlin, Tigran Hamasyan, and the late Zakir Hussain, in a Zankel Hall program on February 27. Montgomery also has a new piece on a big recital by 2025 Grammy winner Karen Slack – about whom, read Olivia Giovetti – at the 92nd Street Y on March 11, and will share a “Juilliard at Carnegie” program with Matthew Aucoin and Caroline Shaw at Zankel Hall on March 24.
And there’s more! Montgomery has a prestigious Miller Theatre Composer Portrait concert featuring vocalist Alicia Hall Moran with a superstar band, with a program that includes a commissioned premiere titled Everything, All at Once, on April 3. And on April 9–11, Jakub Hrůša conducts the New York Philharmonic in another commissioned premiere, CHEMILUMINESCENCE, Montgomery’s contribution to the orchestra’s Project 19 initiative.
After that, Montgomery hits the road with Third Coast Percussion, touring a program that includes her piece and those by Hamyasan and Jlin mentioned above, plus an added treat: Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Violin with Percussion Orchestra, with Montgomery as the soloist. That event won’t happen here, but you’ll see it in Iowa City, IA; Urbana, IL; Notre Dame, IN; Oberlin, OH; Seattle, WA; and Stanford, CA.
Believe it or not, this barely scratches the surface of Montgomery’s overall activity and presence—look for a performance near you on her calendar, and you’ll almost certainly find one.