Violinist Rebecca Jackson-Picht’s performances have been described as “riveting” and characterized by a “fierce spirit.” Rebecca has been a part of commissioning and premiering 12 chamber works. In 2019, she performed the San Jose and San Francisco premieres of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s, Intonations: Songs from the Violins of Hope [made possible by Music at Kohl Mansion and Hewlett 50 Arts Commissions]. During her five seasons as acting member of Santa Fe Opera Orchestra the company won 2019 Grammy for Best Opera Recording for (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.

Her foundational belief is that music possesses power to heal and unite. This has propelled her career and professional outreach around the globe, having performed in marginalized communities across the U.S., Ukraine, Romania, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Nepal, Costa Rica and Lebanon. While maintaining a regular performance schedule with a variety of groups, including as member of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, she contemporaneously produces projects that build community through music outside the concert hall. Her largest project to date, she is the Founder and Artistic Director of Music in May, an annual chamber music festival established in 2008 with one division dedicated to engaging incarcerated youth. The Santa Cruz Sentinel reported that this outreach “revives the evocative and visceral power of music that can be too often deadened in more formal concert environments.” In 2013, she co-founded Sound Impact and Ensemble San Francisco, organizations with missions tied to many of her personal core values. In 2018, Rebecca received a KSBW Jefferson Award in recognition of her volunteerism and public service. The following year, she and her father coauthored the biography of her mentor David Arben, Holocaust survivor and former associate concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra. The book, ARBEN: David Arben’s Life of Miracles & Successes, by Dr. John Jackson and Rebecca Jackson is available on Amazon and at www.davidarben.com and their story featured on NBC News. Jackson-Picht received her Bachelor of Music from The Juilliard School and a Master of Music from University of California, Santa Cruz.