Nelson Centre of Musical Arts, Nelson
Programme highlights:
Benjamin Britten
On This Island (song cycle)
Gaetano Donizetti
Quel guardo il cavaliere (from Don Pasquale)
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Lilacs (Op. 21 No. 5)
How Fair This Spot (Opр. 21 No. 7)
Operatic highlights
Arias by Mozart, Bellini, Puccini and Verdi
Art song / musical theatre
Selected works by Fauré and Lloyd Webber
Nelson-raised soprano Jasmine Jessen returns home for a special concert at the NCMA, joined by pianist Sarah Watkins. The programme offers a rich journey through art song and opera, from the lush romanticism of Rachmaninoff to Benjamin Britten’s song cycle On This Island. Audiences will also be treated to a selection of beloved operatic arias by Mozart, Bellini, Donizetti, Puccini, and Verdi.
With a particular passion for the bel canto tradition of the Romantic era, Jasmine brings a love of expressive storytelling to the stage. This intimate recital promises a captivating blend of artistry, curiosity and heartfelt musicality.
Jasmine Jessen, Soprano
Jasmine is a graduate of Te Pae Kōkako – The Aotearoa New Zealand Opera Studio (TANZOS), where she completed a Master of Music in Advanced Opera Studies at the University of Waikato under the tutelage of Nikki Li-Hartliep. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Classical Performance from Te Kōkī – The New Zealand School of Music (NZSM). Operatic highlights include Adina in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore at the Mediterranean Opera Studio and Festival in Sicily, and the title role in Massenet’s Cendrillon at the NZSM. Jasmine has performed as soprano soloist in Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana with Auckland Choral and Hamilton Brass at the Hamilton Arts Festival. She is the winner of the 2025 ODT Southern Aria Competition in Dunedin. She has attended the New Zealand Opera School four times, most recently receiving the Merle Higgie Opera Prize for Potential.
Sarah Watkins, Pianist
Sarah’s passion for accompanying and chamber music has led to an impressive career as a performer and recording artist. A founding member of NZTrio for 16 years, she now enjoys a wide variety of collaborations with musicians all over Aotearoa.
Sarah has been an official pianist for the Michael Hill International Violin Competition since its inception in 2001. She regularly appears as a freelance player in the APO and has also performed as concerto soloist with the APO, ACO and St. Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra. In 2014 Sarah recorded Chris Watson’s “sing songs self” for solo piano and orchestra with the NZSO, a composition which was awarded the prestigious 2015 SOUNZ Contemporary Award.
An award-winning recording artist, she was named Classical Artist of the Year with violist Robert Ashworth in 2022, and violinist Andrew Beer in 2020 at the Aotearoa Music Awards, for the CDs “Moonstone” and “11 Frames”. “Sway” (NZTrio, 2017) and “Gung-ho” (2009, with NZSO principal trombonist David Bremner) were both previous winners of the Vodafone NZ Music Award for best Classical album.
Sarah is a graduate of the University of Canterbury (NZ) and the Juilliard School (NY), where she earned both MM and DMA degrees in collaborative piano. In October 2023 she was appointed Senior Lecturer in piano at the University of Auckland.
