Paul Jacobs

Celebrating 25 years since he first made musical history at age 23 by performing Bach’s complete organ works in an 18-hour marathon on the 250th anniversary of the composer’s death, organist Paul Jacobs, the only organist ever to have won a GRAMMY Award—in 2011 for Messiaen’s towering Livre du Saint-Sacrement—is today considered one of the most sought-after artists in the world.

Heralded as “one of the finest organists and teachers of our day,” by The New York Times, “one of the major musicians of our time” by Alex Ross of The New Yorker and as “America’s leading organ performer” by The Economist, no other organist is so frequently re-invited as soloist to perform with prestigious orchestras. He is considered the leading pioneer in the movement for the revival of symphonic music featuring the organ.

Mr. Jacobs has collaborated with many of the world’s leading conductors, including Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nézet-Seguin, Franz Welser-Moest, Pierre Boulez, Michael Tilson Thomas, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Elim Chan, James Conlon, David Danzmayr, Charles Dutoit, William Eddins, Thierry Fischer, James Gaffigan, Edward Gardner, Gustavo Gimeno, Jane Glover, Giancarlo Guerrero, Manfred Honeck, Carolyn Kuan, Jun Märkl, Ken David-Masur, Tito Muñoz, Gemma New, David Robertson, Donald Runnicles, Daniele Rustioni, Carl St. Clair, Alexander Shelley, Michael Stern, Alain Trudel, and Osmo Vanska, among others.

An eloquent champion of his instrument, Mr. Jacobs is known for his imaginative interpretations and charismatic stage presence. Having performed to great critical acclaim on five continents and in each of the fifty United States, Mr. Jacobs regularly appears with the Chicago Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Montreal Symphony, Nashville Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Utah Symphony, and Warsaw Philharmonic, among others. Mr. Jacobs is also Founding Director of the Oregon Bach Festival Organ Institute; a position he assumed in 2014.

Mr. Jacobs studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, double-majoring with John Weaver for organ and Lionel Party for harpsichord, and at Yale University with Thomas Murray. He joined the faculty of The Juilliard School in 2003, and was named chair of the organ department in 2004, one of the youngest faculty appointees in the school’s history. In 2021 he received the International Performer of the Year Award from the American Guild of Organists, and in 2017 Washington and Jefferson College bestowed him with an honorary doctorate. Mr. Jacobs has written several well-received articles for the Wall Street Journal.