Jade Simmons

How do you get to be named one “Top Keynote Speakers of 2019”? By repeatedly defying expectations, delivering riveting transformative experiences that combine inspiration, innovation and entertainment at every turn.

Nicknamed “Classical Music’s No.1 Maverick” and often described as a "musical force of nature", the uncommon artist and inspirational figure, Jade Simmons, is easily one of the most exciting thought leaders on the scene today.

Classically trained in piano performance at Northwestern and Rice Universities, Jade has eschewed the traditional recital in favour of taking her audiences on concert adventures that span Rachmaninoff to Rap.

In her inimitable career as a concert pianist, Jade has remained committed to expanding the boundaries of Classical music and its presentation and as a result has revolutionised the concert platform. Today, she offers an incredibly diverse mix of repertoire from the Classics to the cutting edge and her notably diverse audiences have come to expect creative projects backed by riveting performances.

Ms. Simmons has toured the US extensively in recital and with orchestra highlighted by performances at venues as wide-ranging as Ravinia, the Chicago Sinfonietta in Symphony Hall, New York's Town Hall and the Detroit Institute of Arts. She has performed at The White House and has also received the Sphinx Organization's Medal of Excellence in a concert held at the US Supreme Court hosted by Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Jade repeatedly defies expectations, delivering riveting performances and combining passion and renovation at every turn. Jade has led a life marked by innovation and reinvention, and when the time called for it, and when people needed it, and when there were voids she felt she could fill, she purposefully transformed and diversified her offerings to rise to each occasion. 

She lived out that directive to become the biggest, boldest, most impactful version of herself possible by running as an Independent Candidate for President of the United States in the 2020 election.

The movement powering the campaign, Operation Restoration, now exists to do its part to restore the fabric of the nation ripped to shreds by the division caused by hyperpartisanship, intentionally unproductive rhetoric, and racial, social, and economic disparities. In this work, Jade continues in the business of transformation in hopes of ushering in a new era of purpose, opportunity, and possibility for all Americans.

Jade has built a one-of-a-kind career garnering diverse recognition from unlikely places. She plays renowned halls, including the White House and the US Supreme Court, and her genre-bending concert adventures that span Rachmaninoff to Rap attract diverse audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

For her work on and away from the stage, Essence magazine featured Jade alongside former First Lady Michelle Obama as part of their Style & Substance List.

As one of the rare classical artists invited to perform at the taste-making South by Southwest Festival, her show was ultimately branded one of the “Best of SXSW 2014”. She’s starred in a Broadway-style musical called Lillette’s Rhythm Club, and she can be heard portraying Nina Simone’s classical years in the Oscar-nominated documentary, What Happened Miss Simone? 

Audacious author... there’s not a bigger believer in our potential to think bigger, do bigger, be bigger, and believe bolder! Jade Simmons is the author of the #1 Amazon Bestselling book Audacious Prayers for World Changers which gives readers the big, bold words to match their biggest, boldest dreams. The book is also available in print, as an ebook, an audio book on Audible, and it is available in Spanish as Oraciones Atrevidas para Cambiadores del Mundo.

A native of Charleston, South Carolina, Jade completed her undergraduate work at Northwestern University in piano performance. While there, she went on to become Miss Chicago, Miss Illinois and ultimately first runner-up at the 2000 Miss America Pageant.

In that capacity she served as an advocate for Youth Suicide Prevention and ultimately testified in front of Congress alongside Tipper Gore, Surgeon General Satcher and author Danielle Steele on behalf of Mental Health funding. For her Master's degree, Mrs. Simmons studied with Canadian pianist Jon Kimura Parker as a Provost Fellow at Rice University in Houston, TX.

Jade Simmons delivers stunning main stage motivational keynote presentations that potently combine music, virtuoso performance, dynamic leadership strategy, and riveting storytelling to speak into the hearts, minds and goals of a company’s most valuable resource... their people.

As a speaker and presenter, Jade's impact spans a multitude of industries and touches an incredibly varied demographic, from college to corporate. Her experiences blend high-powered inspiration with mind-blowing classical and original genre-bending music, all while driving home an organisation's theme.

For companies ready to empower their people beyond the bottom line, meeting planners searching for new ways to create transformational experiences, and creatives ready to inspire, educate, and entertain audiences beyond belief, Jade is the answer!

Named one of the ‘Best Keynote Speakers of 2019’ (Northstar Meetings), she spent the first few years of her career performing as a classical concert pianist. Following an artistic epiphany, she pivoted from playing the piano to impressing audiences, to using the piano as the vehicle by which to provide the inspiration, entertainment, and transformation that profoundly moves them instead. The results have been, well... darn impressive.

Themes within her powerful motivational keynote speeches include Branding, Communication, Diversity & Inclusion, Growth Mindset, High Performance Under Pressure, Organic Reinvention, Transformative Leadership and Unlocking Originality.

Current keynote speech topics include:

Audacity! Dare to Lead on Purpose
An incredible thing happens when audacious leaders dealing with the pressures of monumental change are given the tools to connect, improvise, and unlock the undiscovered gifts of their team members: break out breakthroughs. Perfect for organisations looking to offer something beyond traditional leadership training.

Dynamic, Disruptive Diversity: A Bold Approach to Harnessing the Power of Differences
Jade's leading the charge for diversification of the workplace with a powerfully positive approach that dares to avoid guilt and obligation in favour of curiosity and authentic connectivity. A motivational keynote speech perfect for organisations determined to be at the forefront of the diversity and inclusion movement.

Passion Empowerment
An expert in Passion Empowerment, Jade Simmons trains companies on how to empower their executives, leaders, and employees to harness the power of their personal passions for the benefit of the workplace. This keynote presentation is centred on the premise that following one's passion is not always about breaking out of an environment - sometimes it's about breaking into your current one in a more effective, powerful, and impactful way.

Organisations striving to usher in an era of heightened productivity and profit, transformational leadership, improved work environment, and greater employee happiness and retention will benefit from this speech.

The Art of Growing Up Black and Gifted
This musical, story-filled experience is the unique, inspirational journey of Jade Simmons. Jade shares uncovering her creative identity, developing a love affair with classical music, and confronting the implications of race, gender, and faith on the future she chose.

As the daughter of a civil rights activist, she learned a lot about choosing her battles by watching her father vehemently fight them all. Equally a product of her mother's faith-focused child rearing, Jade speaks passionately about the role purpose-based living has played in building her life and her diversified career.

Her insights are perfect for conferences and other company events focusing on diversity, race relations, gender studies, civil rights, and politics. This is also a popular presentation with African American audiences, women's conferences, and emerging artists.

No matter the presentation topic you choose for Jade to deliver, or the theme you’re working under, the results will be the same. Your audience will leave feeling not just inspired but truly believing they can do anything! Best news yet, they’ll leave with strategies to become who they need to be in order to do the big things they are called to do.

Her speciality is in activating a renewed and redefined sense of purpose. Jade also speaks on cultivating innovation and originality, the strategies behind audacious leadership, and she leaves behind tools to unleash momentum in life and business.

No stranger to pushing boundaries to see bold results, this concert pianist turned world changer is booked by corporations including Mass Mutual, Royal Bank of Canada, DOW, Raytheon, the Hershey Company, Genentech, Valic, Pfizer, Deliotte, RBC and Nationwide to redefine purpose, inspire seismic shifts in mindset, and activate audiences to go out and instantly start living more consequential lives of impact.

If you’re ready for the most engaged, most diverse, and most delighted audiences you’ve ever had… if you’re ready to make an impact on your audience…then you are ready for Jade Simmons!

Jade’s one of only a very few Yamaha artists performing in both the Classical and Contemporary spheres, which seats her alongside the likes of classical greats Byron Janis, Anne-Marie McDermott, and Awadagin Pratt AND pop icons Elton John, Alicia Keys, and John Legend. Jade’s in this rare place, because she creates rare spaces.

Audiences have come to expect performances marked by passion, innovation, and virtuosity at every turn. Nicknamed “Classical Music’s #1 Maverick,” Jade Simmons eschews the traditional recital in favour of taking her audiences on concert adventures spanning Rachmaninoff to Rap.

Her interactive, multi-genre, concert adventures expand the boundaries of classical music presentation and convincingly blur the lines between high art and popular culture.

From edgy venues like New York’s Le Poisson Rouge to renowned concert halls, including the hallowed ones of the White House and even the US Supreme Court, this “musical force of nature” and born storyteller, who the Washington Post deemed a “magnetic personality worth seeing anytime,” combines spellbinding music and boundless inspiration into a one-of-a-kind concert experience perfect for the entire family.

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Clients often ask about purchasing books for giveaways and delegate packs. Below you’ll find a selection of products by Jade Simmons. Click the images to view on Amazon's website. For bulk orders, please speak with your Booking Agent.