Jessie Neilson always knew music was one of the most important things in her life, however, her’s was not a traditional path to opera.  Like many young singers her first experiences were with choral music and musical theater.  It wasn’t until presented with a scholarship at Michigan State University requiring her to audition for the operas that she even gave it a thought.   “I remember saying to friends, 'It says I have to audition, it doesn’t say anything about having to participate' ” Jessie recounts.  Thankfully her teacher at the time, Molly Fillmore, encouraged her to give it a try. “I am so grateful for Prof. Fillmore’s guidance.  Without her push to participate who knows if I would have ever experienced the joy of falling head over heals in love with this great art form”.  Knowing that she herself might not have experienced a deep emotional connection with opera had it not been for others, Jessie has dedicated much of her career to making opera inclusive. “Many singers view outreach as ‘paying their dues’ or a ‘stepping stone to the main stage’ but I have always seen these opportunities as one of my greatest responsibilities as an artist”.  Jessie has been a Teaching Artist with the San Francisco Opera Guild, an Outreach Artist with the Nashville Opera, and a Co-managing Diva for two chapters of  the international non-profit Opera on Tap, performing numerous shows in bars, breweries, and blackbox theaters. 

“I have so many stories I could share about my work taking opera outside of the opera house but I’ll share just two. We were at Maggy McGarry’s for an Opera on Tap San Francisco show. That night the windows were all open. A man walked up to me looking very concerned and said, ‘Where are the mics?’ He was studying the stage. I replied ‘Oh we don’t use them, the only amplification you hear right now is the keyboard’. His mind was blown. He had heard us singing from a few blocks away and came in to see what was happening. He told me, ‘I didn’t know the human voice could do that!’. He stayed for a few more arias and then went on his way. I will never forget the look on his face. It brought me so much joy to watch him discover something new, something he didn’t even know was possible, through opera. Another magical moment comes from when I was singing Mimi in La Boheme for the Opera a la Carte program with the San Francisco Opera Guild. At the end of the opera Colline has the line, ‘Musetta, she’s gone’. Immediately I hear the most heartfelt, genuine gasps from two kindergartners in the front row. I’m playing dead, saying to myself over and over again ‘Jessie you cannot smile, you are dead, you cannot smile, do not smile!’. Later my colleagues informed me that not only did they gasp but they also threw their arms around each other and embraced. Kindergartners, so invested in a performance of La Boheme in their school’s cafe-torium they had both audible and physical reactions to that intense moment, it was a beautiful thing. Nothing can top those moments of connection, of discovery”.

Whether inside or outside the opera house, Jessie Neilson has made it her goal as an artist to connect. "To me opera is art of human connection.  If someone in the audience can look up to see or hear something they have felt before but never had the ability to name or express, it is an immensely powerful exchange".   Praised for her "powerful voice" and "compelling acting" (SFCV), Jessie has taken on roles such as Vitellia in Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, Fiordiligi in Cosi fan Tutte, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Mimi in Puccini's La Boheme, and Susannah (title role) by Carlysle FLoyd.  Jessie is a District Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (2018).   Jessie is proud to be a part of the growing movement encouraging opera to evolve with our communities and make it a space where everyone is welcome.