Jess Lex

Jess Lex began studying the violin at the age of 7 after hearing a violin played at her church in her home state of Minnesota. At first she didn’t know what the instrument was, but after being told it was a violin, she decided that she needed to learn how to play, and music has been in her life ever since. She grew up studying classical music but was also inspired to learn how to play fiddle music in a variety of styles. In addition to playing with the Minnesota Youth Symphonies as a teen, Jess could be seen on stages throughout the Twin Cities accompanying Irish dancers and playing music with local artists. Multi-talented, she won 1st place in the Minnesota State Fair Fiddle Competition trick fiddling category when she combined her Irish dance and fiddle skills. Jess took a break from fiddle music for a few years while earning a BM in violin performance at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, studying under Henryk Kowalski. While at Indiana, Jess was able to play in several area orchestras. After college, Jess moved to Madison for a non-music job and was fortunate to join local legends Madison County in 2010 as their fiddle player for 10 years, which launched her onto the Madison music scene. Her most recent gig was as the fiddle player for the Dan Lepien Band. She is excited and grateful to be part of an orchestral experience again through the Madison Gamer Symphony Orchestra.