Jessica Ormaghi
About this Artist
Jessica Ornaghi is a percussionist and drummer with over 15 years of experience in orchestral performance, chamber music, and music education. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of São Paulo in Brazil and completed her Master of Music in Performance at the Azusa Pacific University on full scholarship, studying with Raynor Carroll, Mark Converse, Yuri Inoo, and Bill Schlitt. She also completed an Artist Certificate at APU and was the first recipient of the Alan Abel Scholarship from TAPS Academy Online in 2020.
As a performer, she served as principal percussionist of the Heliópolis Symphony Orchestra and has appeared as a guest musician with the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop. In 2016, she toured internationally with the YOA Orchestra of the Americas under Benjamin Zander and Carlos Miguel Prieto. Ornaghi has performed with ensembles including the Irvine Symphony, San Gabriel Valley Symphony, Sea Coast Symphony Orchestra, and others, with appearances at Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Soka Performing Arts Center. She is also a winner of the La Sierra University All-Star Solo Competition in 2025 and, in 2023, received second place in the Nobel-Artist International Competition with a marimba solo.
Currently, she works as Percussion Instructor at La Sierra University, Percussion Teaching Artist with the LA Phil’s YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) program, and Percussion Director at Soares Music Studio. Her career includes recognition in international competitions and ongoing work as an active freelance artist based in Los Angeles County, maintaining an active career as both performer and educator.