Shepherd School of Music alumna Jade Simmons, an internationally touring classical pianist and a former Miss America runner-up, can now include Ebony magazine’s “Young Leader of the Future” among her growing list of distinctions.
Simmons was among 30 people named to the list, which appears in Ebony’s February issue and recognizes young, gifted black men and women who are rising stars in law, academia, religion, science, entertainment, communications and the arts.

Of Simmons, Ebony noted she recently became the first New Music New Places Fellow for the Concert Artists Guild organization. In June 2005, she debuted with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. She has performed as a soloist, a recitalist and a chamber musician, and her performances have been broadcast on PBS and National Public Radio. She also is pursuing an International Certificate for Piano Arts from the Foundation Bell’Arte in Brussels, Belgium.

Simmons earned her master’s degree in piano performance from the Shepherd School in 2003 and has been described as “an artist with a social conscience that moves her to action.”

She is an advocate for youth, speaking on topics of social concern, including suicide prevention and youth violence, and is founder of the “Where Do You Stand?!” speaking series. She is also passionate about the role of the arts in education and created “Mozart on the Move,” an arts education program aimed at exposing Houston-area elementary school children to the arts.

In 2004, Simmons launched the Impulse Artist Piano Series, devoted to providing performance opportunities to emerging pianists who have come to the end of their academic careers and/or are preparing to embark on their professional journeys. Simmons will present an all-star concert benefiting this series Feb. 6, featuring, among others, former mentor Jon Kimura Parker, professor of piano at the Shepherd School.

“Jade has exactly the kind of creative energy that the classical music world needs,” said Parker. “Every time that she has had a success, she has found a way to use it to create opportunities for young artists and to spread the joy of great music.”