Paul Jacobs (organist)

Paul Jacobs
Birth name	Paul Jacobs
Born	1977
Genres	Classical music
Occupations	Organist
Instruments	Organ
Labels	Naxos and JAV Recordings

Paul Jacobs (b. 1977) is an American organist.

Paul Jacobs began piano lessons at age five and organ lessons at age 12 in his hometown of Washington, Pennsylvania. At age 15 he was appointed head organist of Immaculate Conception Church, a parish of over 3,000 families in Washington, PA. Jacobs then attended The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, double-majoring in organ (with John Weaver) and harpsichord (with Lionel Party), while serving as organist at the Washington Memoral Chapel in Valley Forge National Park. During his final semester as an undergraduate student, he performed the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach several times, including once in an 18-hour non-stop marathon concert in Pittsburgh on the 250th anniversary of the composer's death, July 28, 2000. Jacobs completed a master's degree from the Yale School of Music, studying organ with Thomas Murray. Jacobs has performed the complete organ works of Olivier Messiaen in eight American cities since 2002, each time in a nine-hour marathon concert.

In 2003 Jacobs was invited to join the faculty of The Juilliard School and the following year, was named chairman of its organ department, making him one of the youngest faculty appointments in the school's history. Winning accolades and awareness for the pipe organ from both critics and audiences alike, Jacobs has performed on five continents, and by the age of 32 performed in each of the 50 United States. His extensive repertoire includes music from the 16-century through contemporary times, including many new works written for him. He has appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the Cincinnati Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, the Phoenix Symphony, and the Pacific Symphony, among others.

Jacobs is known for playing demanding programs exclusively from memory. He has memorized the complete works of Olivier Messiaen, as well as the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, César Franck, and many others.

In addition to numerous awards and honors, Jacobs was the first organist to be given the Harvard Musical Association's Arthur W. Foote Award in 2004. He received the Yale School of Music's Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005, and in 2007 he was awarded the William Schuman Scholars Chair at The Juilliard School. Jacobs has recorded several works of J.S. Bach on the JAV Label and works by Messiaen at the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin for Naxos.

He won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra) at the 53rd Grammy Awards in 2011 for his recording of Messiaen: Livre Du Saint-Sacrement.

External links

• 'The Vital Organist' in New York magazine
• "The Organ As Extreme Sport" New York Times
• Interview with Paul Jacobs by Joyce Robinson for The Diapason magazine
• Article on Paul Jacobs' 2002 Messaien Marathon by Frank Ferko
• NPR Tiny Desk Concert by Paul Jacobs