About Us
About Jâca
Brief Bio (64 words)
Jâca brings the sounds of the world to life through a thrilling live music experience filled with virtuosity, storytelling, humor, and cultural discovery. Led by two charismatic virtuosos on clarinet and guitar, the duo transforms concerts into vibrant musical journeys that captivate audiences of all backgrounds. Praised for their electrifying stage presence, Jâca has performed internationally in concert halls, festivals, and major touring circuits.
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Medium Bio (160 words)
Jâca brings the sounds of the world to life through a thrilling live music experience filled with virtuosity, storytelling, humor, and cultural exploration. Blending dazzling musicianship with global musical traditions, their concerts become vibrant journeys that captivate audiences from the first note to the final encore.
At the heart of Jâca are two virtuoso performers whose playful chemistry and musical curiosity bring extraordinary color and imagination to the stage. Performing on clarinet and guitar, the duo explores repertoire inspired by musical traditions from across the globe, crafting programs that are both adventurous and deeply engaging.
Jâca has performed for audiences across North America and internationally, appearing in concert halls, festivals, and major touring circuits. Their performances have included appearances at venues such as Carnegie Hall and have been featured on television and radio broadcasts across multiple continents. Widely praised for their charisma and technical brilliance, Jâca continues to captivate audiences with concerts that are as electrifying as they are unforgettable.
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Long Bio (250 words)
Jâca brings the sounds of the world to life through a thrilling live music experience filled with virtuosity, storytelling, humor, and cultural exploration. Blending dazzling musicianship with musical traditions from across the globe, their concerts become vibrant journeys that captivate audiences from the first note to the final encore.
Known for their charismatic stage presence and infectious energy, Jâca transforms concerts into immersive experiences where music, culture, and storytelling intertwine. Their programs draw inspiration from diverse musical traditions, creating performances that feel both adventurous and deeply engaging for audiences of all backgrounds.
At the center of Jâca are two virtuosic musicians whose playful chemistry and artistic curiosity bring extraordinary imagination to the stage. Performing on clarinet and guitar, the duo explores repertoire spanning global musical traditions, original arrangements, and new music written especially for them. Their performances showcase the remarkable versatility and expressive power of these instruments, creating a sound world that is both intimate and expansive.
Jâca has performed for audiences across North America and internationally, appearing in concert halls, festivals, and major touring circuits. Their performances have included appearances at venues such as Carnegie Hall and have been featured on television and radio broadcasts across multiple continents. In addition to their touring work, Jâca is passionate about connecting with audiences through engaging performances that break down barriers between performer and listener.
Praised for their charisma, technical brilliance, and powerful connection with audiences, Jâca continues to enchant listeners with concerts that are as entertaining as they are musically inspiring.
Values
Innovation
Exchange
Outreach
We redefine the traditional concert experience. We aim to break down the formal barrier between audience and performer by infusing our performances with energy, dialogue, virtuosity, and humor to create an impactful event that audience members will remember.
While presenting our music around the world, we give back a percentage of our merchandise proceeds to the cultures that we share music with. Additionally, the Jâca Cultural Exchange Program (JCEP) has a fund which is set up to provide unique musical opportunities to those in need in the USA and abroad.
We believe it’s important to impact the communities we visit. We always offer a community outreach-based residency program to complement our concert performances.
Diversity
Artistry
Entertainment
We want our music to be a reflection of ourselves. As musicians from multicultural backgrounds, we aim to highlight influences within Western Classical music that are from diverse communities.
We value all aspects of artistry in music, including creativity, expression, virtuosity, and innovation.
We craft our concerts with the audience in mind. Whether it’s to experience music of many cultures, to laugh, to be inspired, or simply to have a relaxing night out, audiences want to be entertained. Jâca aims to serve those needs with a side of sweet potato fries!
Wesley Ferreira
With a charismatic blend of technical flair, polish, and grace, Portuguese-Canadian clarinetist Wesley Ferreira draws in audiences with his unabashed joy and passion for storytelling through music. He is widely considered a gifted expressionist whose engaging personality connects with people in an authentic and meaningful way and has been praised by critics for his “beautiful tone” and “technical prowess” (The Clarinet Journal) as well as his “remarkable sensitivity” (CAML Review). Fanfare Magazine notes, Ferreira is “clearly a major talent."
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Wesley leads an active and diverse career performing worldwide as soloist, orchestral and chamber musician, and as an engaging adjudicator, and clinician. Recent performances have taken him to Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Ecuador, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, and Spain. Additionally, he has been broadcast nationally on RTP television in Portugal and on radio with the CBC in Canada and ABC in Australia. His discography now totals eleven, including the 2013 East Coast Music Award winner – Classical Recording of the Year. Currently based in the United States, he is part of the renowned faculty of Colorado State University’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance where he maintains a thriving clarinet studio.
Wesley’s commitment to collaboration and advancing his field is further demonstrated when he was tapped by Selmer Paris in 2017 to be a lead consultant and team-developer on a new line of clarinets. In October 2021, the Muse professional clarinet was released to critical acclaim.
Wesley received his advanced musical training at the University of Western Ontario (B.M) and Arizona State University (M.M. and D.M.A) studying with Robert Riseling and Robert Spring, respectively. His industry endorsements include positions on the performing artist rosters of Selmer Paris and Vandoren. Wesley performs exclusively on Selmer Muse clarinets, the Vandoren BD4 mouthpiece, V21 reeds, and gold M/O ligature. To learn more, visit: www.wesleyferreira.com
Jaxon Williams
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Hailed as a “Rising Star in the Guitar World” (Corvallis Arts Review), Jaxon Williams is an acclaimed classical guitarist and pedagogue. A prizewinner in various international competitions, Jaxon is praised as “a player of rare power and grace” (William Kanengiser, GRAMMY award winning LAGQ), having “a refined musicianship, solid technique, and an engaging stage presence” (Frank Koonce, guitar scholar and publisher), and is a sought-after performer of the classical guitar. He is also a former Fulbright scholar, having studied in Spain, where he mastered the Spanish guitar repertoire and learned Flamenco guitar with maestros Paco Cortés and Adam del Monte. Currently based in Los Angeles, CA, Jaxon serves as California Regional Director for the nonprofit Lead Guitar (www.leadguitar.org), where he implements classical guitar programs in low-income schools, trains new teachers, and supervises existing programs. He is also one half of the duo Jâca (www.jacamusic.com), which actively performs on the concert stage worldwide. Jaxon received his master’s in guitar performance from Arizona State University and is completing his doctorate in guitar performance from the University of Southern California, where he also was awarded a graduate teaching assistantship. Jaxon plays a guitar built by luthier Paulino Bernabé of Madrid, Spain.
To learn more about Jaxon Williams, please visit his website: www.jaxonwilliamsmusic.com