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Jessica Balik

Jessica Balik is a flutist and has a PhD in historical musicology from Stanford University.

Articles by this Author

Streaming Review
November 30, 2020
Friction Quartet Debuts New Works for C4NM
BY Jessica Balik

Four composers tackle the technical challenges of virtual performances and weave solutions into the fabric of their works.

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Chamber Music Review
October 5, 2020
One Found Sound’s “Lyric” Concert Conjures Brighter Times
BY Jessica Balik

Livestreamed from The Midway SF, the concert highlighted delightfully varied chamber works by three African Amercian composers.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra Review
February 24, 2020
One Found Sound Inspires With Its Sense of Wonder
BY Jessica Balik

Soprano Julie Adams joins the collaborative chamber orchestra in Samuel Barber’s poignant Knoxville.

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Recital Review
January 27, 2020
Theo Bleckmann Sings of Dark Times
BY Jessica Balik

The Telegraph Quartet joins Bleckmann in a lineup of dark cabaret numbers at SF Performances.

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Chamber Music Review
January 21, 2020
These Violins Speak of Heartbreak and Hope
BY Jessica Balik

A powerful concert at Kohl Mansion makes the enormity of the Holocaust tangible and personal through music.

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Modern Classical Review
October 27, 2019
Bard Music West Champions the Grażyna Bacewicz Legacy
BY Jessica Balik

The underplayed Polish composer gets a top-notch festival in her honor.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra Review
March 22, 2019
Christian Tetzlaff Headlines, and S.F. Symphony Oboist James Button Shares the Limelight
BY Jessica Balik

The violin virtuoso is masterful in Mozart’s third concerto, but Button sparkles throughout the concert.

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Chamber Music Review
February 5, 2019
Elevate Ensemble Masters Thorny Pieces With Panache
BY Jessica Balik

A concert titled “Low Hanging Fruit” gathers a bounty of challenging new works.

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Chamber Music Review
December 18, 2018
At SoundBox, Come for the Music, Stay for the Atmosphere
BY Jessica Balik

S.F. Symphony’s experimental performance space is hip and busy.

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Chamber Music Review
December 11, 2018
One Found Sound Explores New Musical Connections with “Divergence”
BY Jessica Balik

The hip, conductorless ensemble ranges seamlessly from a contemporary work based on an Indian theme to a Mozart classic.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra Review
November 6, 2018
Marwood Mends New Century Chamber Orchestra Opener
BY Jessica Balik

Guest concertmaster Anthony Marwood leads the ensemble in its season opener.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra Review
October 29, 2018
S.F. Symphony Uplifts and Informs With a Timely Premiere From Kevin Puts
BY Jessica Balik

Violinist Ray Chen dazzles his adoring fans in Edouard Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra Review
October 22, 2018
S.F. Symphony Takes a Tour of Spain
BY Jessica Balik

Pianist Javier Perianes Is a revelation.

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Chamber Music Review
October 15, 2018
Kate Stenberg and Sarah Cahill Give New Music a Good Name
BY Jessica Balik

The local power violin-piano duo explores contemporary music in a way that everyone should celebrate.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra Review
October 7, 2018
Berkeley Symphony Opens With Promising Vitality
BY Jessica Balik

Violinist Benjamin Beilman wows with a powerful rendition of a Jennifer Higdon concerto.

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Festival Review
August 7, 2018
William Bolcom and Acolytes Shine in Cabrillo’s “After Dixieland”
BY Jessica Balik

Fascinating compositions and understated virtuosity transcend the program’s ambiguous concept.

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Chamber Orchestra/Orchestra Review
May 21, 2018
Thought-Provoking Masterworks Cap Oakland Symphony’s Season
BY Jessica Balik

Peace prevails in a program exploring “the artist’s struggle.”

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Recital Review
May 15, 2018
Contemporary Art Songs Dazzle at the Center for New Music
BY Jessica Balik

Two musicians from the Brooklyn Art Song Society perform new works by UC Davis composers and poets.

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Modern Classical Review
April 23, 2018
M. Lamar and Living Earth Show Conduct an Ominous Tour of "Lordship and Bondage"
BY Jessica Balik

Edgy, polygenre music underscores Lamar's idiosyncratic philosophy in a 10-song cycle.

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Modern Classical Review
April 17, 2018
Other Minds' Sound Poetry Week Wraps With Premieres by Pamela Z and Jaap Blonk
BY Jessica Balik

The accent was on the sounds that words and phonemes make in music that slurs and blurs meanings.

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