Tessa Ellis has been preoccupied with the sound of the trumpet since she first heard the instrument as a four-year-old. Inspired by a lifelong drive to create new and nuanced sounds, her work spans orchestral, chamber, and experimental music. Recent highlights include tours with Hans Zimmer Live, Star Trek: The Cruise, and performances with Seraph Brass, the Philadelphia Ballet Orchestra, Kennett Symphony, and the Delaware Symphony. She is a founding member of the Arcana New Music Ensemble and frequently collaborates across
genres with the People’s Music Supply and several Philadelphia-based bands.
Tessa studied with David Bilger at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she earned a Bachelor of Music and a Community Artist Fellowship Diploma. She teaches trumpet at Settlement Music
School and Swarthmore College, and also supports neurodivergent musicians as an ADHD
coach — a path supported by a Young Alumni Fund grant from Curtis.
When she’s not on stage, Tessa can be found marveling at toads in the park with her two young
children or getting lost in a book with an iced coffee in hand.