Jade Simmons is a creator of transformational experiences designed to activate audiences into becoming the biggest, boldest version of themselves possible. The world-class concert artist has been called a “musical force of nature” (Yamaha Music) with an “uncanny ability to connect with the sounds of today” (Seattle Times). Jade is the CEO of Jade Media Global, a revolutionary live experience and global content distribution company specializing in 360o personal development and strategic transformation.
During her early career after graduating from Northwestern and Rice Universities, she performed in recital and with orchestra as a classical pianist in renowned halls, including the hallowed ones of the White House and the US Supreme Court. Following an artistic epiphany, she pivoted from playing the piano to impress audiences, to using music as the vehicleby which to provide the inspiration, entertainment, and transformation that profoundly moves them instead.
Nicknamed “Classical Music’s #1 Maverick,” her electrifying, genre-bending concert adventures span Rachmaninoff all the way to rap and include virtuoso storytelling, uncommon insights, and boundless inspiration. Today, Jade’s experiences not only delight concert audiences, but her dazzling, high- impact presentations are fast becoming the go-to fuel for organizations looking to reconnect their people to greater purpose, inspire seismic shifts in mindset, and activate their teams and leaders to instantly start living more consequential lives of impact.
Recently named one of the Best Keynote Speakers of 2019 and 2020, Jade’s impact spans a multitude of industries and transcends audience demographics. The world’s superlative brands and organizations from financial services, biotech, entertainment, education, energy and beyond are bringing Jade in. The born storyteller is also a stellar mindset strategist fluent in the language of high achievers.
In her inimitable career as a concert pianist, Jade has remained committed to expanding the boundaries of Classical music and its presentation, and as a result she has revolutionized the concert platform.
Ms. Simmons has toured the US extensively in recital and with orchestra, highlighted by performances at venues as wide-ranging as Ravinia, the Chicago Sinfonietta in Symphony Hall, New York’s Town Hall, Detroit Institute of Arts, and the White House. She has been named one of the Best of South By Southwest and has also received the Sphinx Organization’s Medal of Excellence in a concert held at the US Supreme Court and hosted by Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Often the first, the founder, or at the forefront, Jade was the first New Music/New Places fellow for the prestigious Concert Artist Guild, and she was the original face of the legendary Van Cliburn International Piano competition’s webcast. She’s also the beloved voice of Decomposed, the critically- acclaimed American Public Media podcast that turned classic music storytelling on its head. The show has been heralded in Time, Esquire, Indie Wire, and BBC America.
Simmons continues to make an unexpected impact on and away from the stage. As an ordained minister and author, she challenges us to pray bigger with the best-selling Audacious Prayers for World Changers. An equal-opportunity disrupter, in 2020, the Maverick made her boldest leap yet as founder of Operation Restoration, which powered her run as an Independent candidate for President of the United States. Her platforms prioritize people and unifying policies over politics as usual.