A passionate music educator, Dr. Jessica Morel was appointed Music Director of the Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra in July 2021. She comes to GPYO after two seasons leading the Youth Philharmonic of the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestras Program and three seasons as the Music Director of the Winston-Salem Symphony Youth Orchestras Program, which saw significant growth under her leadership. In addition to her experience as a youth orchestra conductor, Dr. Morel served as the Assistant Conductor for the Winston-Salem Symphony for three seasons, where she led educational concerts, family concerts, pops concerts, and made her debut on a classics program. She has appeared as a guest conductor with the Charlotte Symphony, Charlotte Ballet, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Amarillo Symphony, Spartanburg Philharmonic, Evansville Philharmonic, Abilene Philharmonic, and as a cover conductor for the Memphis and Portland Symphony Orchestras. Dr. Morel also served as the Visiting Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Evansville in 2015-2016.

Dr. Morel was honored with being named a competition winner of the 2014 International Conductors’ Workshop and Competition held in Atlanta, and in 2015, she was chosen as the Assistant Conductor for the Hot Springs Music Festival in Arkansas. She has studied at competitive summer music programs, including the Eastern Music Festival with Gerard Schwarz, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music with Marin Alsop, PRISMA, and the Atlantic Music Festival. Frequently in demand as a clinician and music educator, she has conducted multiple All-County Honors Orchestras in North Carolina, as well as opera and music theater productions for High Point University, Texas Women’s University, and the University of North Texas. Dr. Morel earned her Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting from the University of North Texas, where she studied with David Itkin and Clay Couturiaux. She received her Masters in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Nevada Las Vegas under the guidance of Taras Krysa, and her Bachelors in Music Education from Indiana University, where she studied flute with Kathryn Lukas. Dr. Morel also enjoys playing the piano and the violin.