B i o g r a p h y
B i o g r a p h y
B i o g r a p h y
Joshua R. Jacobson holds a Bachelors degree in Music from Harvard College, a Masters in Choral Conducting from the New England Conservatory, a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Cincinnati, and a Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa from Hebrew College. Before retiring in 2018, Dr. Jacobson served 45 years as Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Northeastern University, including nine years as Music Department Chairman and six years as the Bernard Stotsky Professor of Jewish Cultural Studies. He is also Visiting Professor and Senior Consultant in the School of Jewish Music at Hebrew College. He is also the founder and director of the Zamir Chorale of Boston, a world-renowned ensemble, specializing in Hebrew music. He has conducted workshops on choral music for various groups, including the American Choral Directors Association, and has guest conducted a number of ensembles, including the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Bulgarian National Symphony and Chorus, the New England Conservatory Orchestra and the Boston Lyric Opera Company. He has also written articles on various aspects of choral music, and over one hundred published compositions and arrangements. In 1989 he spent four weeks in Yugoslavia as a Distinguished Professor under the auspices of the Fulbright program. In 1994 Hebrew College awarded him the Benjamin Shevach Award for Distinguished Achievement in Jewish Educational Leadership, in 2004 the Cantors Assembly presented him with its prestigious “Kavod Award,” in 2016 Choral Arts New England presented him the Alfred Nash Patterson Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2018 Chorus America selected him for its Distinguished Service Award. Prof. Jacobson is past President of the Massachusetts chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. He is the conductor and host of the PBS film, Zamir: Jewish Voices Return to Poland. His book, Chanting the Hebrew Bible: The Art of Cantillation, published by the Jewish Publication Society in 2002, was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. He is co-author of Translations and Annotations of Choral Repertoire—Volume IV: Hebrew Texts, published by earthsongs in 2009.
Prof. Jacobson’s articles have appeared in The Choral Journal, the American Choral Review, The Journal of Synagogue Music, Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, Encyclopedia Judaica, Studies in Jewish Civilization, Yale University Institute of Sacred Music Colloquium, The Musical Quarterly, and others. His compositions, arrangements and editions have been performed by ACDA honors choirs, by the Boston Pops and Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and by the St. Olaf College Choirs, among others. His music is published by Transcontinental, ECS, Broude Brothers and Earthsongs. He has guest lectured at Harvard, Brandeis, Yale, and many other schools. In addition to his specialization in Jewish music, he has conducted many of the standard choral-orchestral masterworks, including Bach’s Johannespassion, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Poulenc’s Gloria, Schubert’s Mass in E-flat, Thompson’s A Peaceable Kingdom. He has also prepared Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for Daniel Barenboim and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Mahler's Second Symphony for Zubin Mehta and the I. P. O., Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms for Gary Bertini and the Jerusalem Symphony, Schoenberg’s A Survivor from Warsaw for Piero Bellugi and the New England Conservatory Orchestra. In 2011 Jacobson launched "Middle Eastern Harmonies," a program bringing together on stage Jewish and Arab music and musicians. He has performed the program for diverse audiences throughout New England.
Here are excerpts from some press reviews. Richard Dyer wrote in the Boston Globe (June11, 2002) “Jacobson has a gift for programming that is instructive and entertaining, and more often than not, the Zamir Chorale performs works that music lovers would be unlikely to hear anyplace else.” Philip Greenfield in the American Record Guide (March/April, 2002), “The Zamir Chorale of Boston has become America’s foremost Jewish choral ensemble.” Kevin Gabriel in The Worcester Telegram and Gazette (March 25, 1996), “Jacobson led polished performances that emphasized clarity and balance. And the chorale’s professionalism was everywhere evident, particlularly in its unflagging attention to detail.”
Joshua R. Jacobson holds a Bachelors degree in Music from Harvard College, a Masters in Choral Conducting from the New England Conservatory, a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Cincinnati, and a Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa from Hebrew College. Before retiring in 2018, Dr. Jacobson served 45 years as Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Northeastern University, including nine years as Music Department Chairman and six years as the Bernard Stotsky Professor of Jewish Cultural Studies. He is also Visiting Professor and Senior Consultant in the School of Jewish Music at Hebrew College. He is also the founder and director of the Zamir Chorale of Boston, a world-renowned ensemble, specializing in Hebrew music. He has conducted workshops on choral music for various groups, including the American Choral Directors Association, and has guest conducted a number of ensembles, including the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Bulgarian National Symphony and Chorus, the New England Conservatory Orchestra and the Boston Lyric Opera Company. He has also written articles on various aspects of choral music, and over one hundred published compositions and arrangements. In 1989 he spent four weeks in Yugoslavia as a Distinguished Professor under the auspices of the Fulbright program. In 1994 Hebrew College awarded him the Benjamin Shevach Award for Distinguished Achievement in Jewish Educational Leadership, in 2004 the Cantors Assembly presented him with its prestigious “Kavod Award,” in 2016 Choral Arts New England presented him the Alfred Nash Patterson Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2018 Chorus America selected him for its Distinguished Service Award. Prof. Jacobson is past President of the Massachusetts chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. He is the conductor and host of the PBS film, Zamir: Jewish Voices Return to Poland. His book, Chanting the Hebrew Bible: The Art of Cantillation, published by the Jewish Publication Society in 2002, was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. He is co-author of Translations and Annotations of Choral Repertoire—Volume IV: Hebrew Texts, published by earthsongs in 2009.
Prof. Jacobson’s articles have appeared in The Choral Journal, the American Choral Review, The Journal of Synagogue Music, Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, Encyclopedia Judaica, Studies in Jewish Civilization, Yale University Institute of Sacred Music Colloquium, The Musical Quarterly, and others. His compositions, arrangements and editions have been performed by ACDA honors choirs, by the Boston Pops and Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and by the St. Olaf College Choirs, among others. His music is published by Transcontinental, ECS, Broude Brothers and Earthsongs. He has guest lectured at Harvard, Brandeis, Yale, and many other schools. In addition to his specialization in Jewish music, he has conducted many of the standard choral-orchestral masterworks, including Bach’s Johannespassion, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Poulenc’s Gloria, Schubert’s Mass in E-flat, Thompson’s A Peaceable Kingdom. He has also prepared Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for Daniel Barenboim and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Mahler's Second Symphony for Zubin Mehta and the I. P. O., Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms for Gary Bertini and the Jerusalem Symphony, Schoenberg’s A Survivor from Warsaw for Piero Bellugi and the New England Conservatory Orchestra. In 2011 Jacobson launched "Middle Eastern Harmonies," a program bringing together on stage Jewish and Arab music and musicians. He has performed the program for diverse audiences throughout New England.
Here are excerpts from some press reviews. Richard Dyer wrote in the Boston Globe (June11, 2002) “Jacobson has a gift for programming that is instructive and entertaining, and more often than not, the Zamir Chorale performs works that music lovers would be unlikely to hear anyplace else.” Philip Greenfield in the American Record Guide (March/April, 2002), “The Zamir Chorale of Boston has become America’s foremost Jewish choral ensemble.” Kevin Gabriel in The Worcester Telegram and Gazette (March 25, 1996), “Jacobson led polished performances that emphasized clarity and balance. And the chorale’s professionalism was everywhere evident, particlularly in its unflagging attention to detail.”
Joshua R. Jacobson holds a Bachelors degree in Music from Harvard College, a Masters in Choral Conducting from the New England Conservatory, a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Cincinnati, and a Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa from Hebrew College. Before retiring in 2018, Dr. Jacobson served 45 years as Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Northeastern University, including nine years as Music Department Chairman and six years as the Bernard Stotsky Professor of Jewish Cultural Studies. He is also Visiting Professor and Senior Consultant in the School of Jewish Music at Hebrew College. He is also the founder and director of the Zamir Chorale of Boston, a world-renowned ensemble, specializing in Hebrew music. He has conducted workshops on choral music for various groups, including the American Choral Directors Association, and has guest conducted a number of ensembles, including the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Bulgarian National Symphony and Chorus, the New England Conservatory Orchestra and the Boston Lyric Opera Company. He has also written articles on various aspects of choral music, and over one hundred published compositions and arrangements. In 1989 he spent four weeks in Yugoslavia as a Distinguished Professor under the auspices of the Fulbright program. In 1994 Hebrew College awarded him the Benjamin Shevach Award for Distinguished Achievement in Jewish Educational Leadership, in 2004 the Cantors Assembly presented him with its prestigious “Kavod Award,” in 2016 Choral Arts New England presented him the Alfred Nash Patterson Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2018 Chorus America selected him for its Distinguished Service Award. Prof. Jacobson is past President of the Massachusetts chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. He is the conductor and host of the PBS film, Zamir: Jewish Voices Return to Poland. His book, Chanting the Hebrew Bible: The Art of Cantillation, published by the Jewish Publication Society in 2002, was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. He is co-author of Translations and Annotations of Choral Repertoire—Volume IV: Hebrew Texts, published by earthsongs in 2009.
Prof. Jacobson’s articles have appeared in The Choral Journal, the American Choral Review, The Journal of Synagogue Music, Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, Encyclopedia Judaica, Studies in Jewish Civilization, Yale University Institute of Sacred Music Colloquium, The Musical Quarterly, and others. His compositions, arrangements and editions have been performed by ACDA honors choirs, by the Boston Pops and Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and by the St. Olaf College Choirs, among others. His music is published by Transcontinental, ECS, Broude Brothers and Earthsongs. He has guest lectured at Harvard, Brandeis, Yale, and many other schools. In addition to his specialization in Jewish music, he has conducted many of the standard choral-orchestral masterworks, including Bach’s Johannespassion, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Poulenc’s Gloria, Schubert’s Mass in E-flat, Thompson’s A Peaceable Kingdom. He has also prepared Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for Daniel Barenboim and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Mahler's Second Symphony for Zubin Mehta and the I. P. O., Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms for Gary Bertini and the Jerusalem Symphony, Schoenberg’s A Survivor from Warsaw for Piero Bellugi and the New England Conservatory Orchestra. In 2011 Jacobson launched "Middle Eastern Harmonies," a program bringing together on stage Jewish and Arab music and musicians. He has performed the program for diverse audiences throughout New England.
Here are excerpts from some press reviews. Richard Dyer wrote in the Boston Globe (June11, 2002) “Jacobson has a gift for programming that is instructive and entertaining, and more often than not, the Zamir Chorale performs works that music lovers would be unlikely to hear anyplace else.” Philip Greenfield in the American Record Guide (March/April, 2002), “The Zamir Chorale of Boston has become America’s foremost Jewish choral ensemble.” Kevin Gabriel in The Worcester Telegram and Gazette (March 25, 1996), “Jacobson led polished performances that emphasized clarity and balance. And the chorale’s professionalism was everywhere evident, particlularly in its unflagging attention to detail.”
JOSHUA JACOBSON
title: Adon Olam (Master of the Universe)
composer: Kenneth Lampl
publisher:
catalogue number:
voicing: SATB , divisi
accompaniment: a cappella
language: Hebrew
text: Synagogue liturgy
year of composition:
timing: 5:10
recordings: Zamir – From Boston to Berlin
level of difficulty: moderate
service: any
description: A touching setting of the text, evoking the cosmic sense of the lyrics. Lampl composes in a contemporary style, largely homophonic, with lush chords and lots of divisi (a la Whitaker)..
title: Adon Olam (Master of the Universe)
composer: Salamone Rossi
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number: 982045
voicing: SATB SATB
accompaniment: a cappella
language: Hebrew
text: Solomon Ibn Gabirol
year of composition: 1622 (published)
timing: 2:10
recordings: Rossi
level of difficulty: moderate (8 parts)
service: any
description: Salamone Rossi, a Jewish composer working in the Gonzaga court in Mantua at the beginning of the seventeenth century, composed the only substantial collection of polyphonic music for the synagogue to appear before the nineteenth century. “Adon Olam” is a majestic motet in eight parts, utilizing cori spezzati.
title: Adon Olam (Master of the Universe)
composer: Robert Stern
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number: 991297
voicing: SA
accompaniment: piano (optional handbells)
language: Hebrew
text: synagogue liturgy
year of composition: c. 1990
timing: 3:15
recordings: Naxos 8.559406
level of difficulty: challenging
service: any
description: An effervescent setting for women’s chorus of Ibn Gabirol’s liturgical hymn.
title: Adonai Ro’i (The Lord Is My Shepherd)
composer: Gerald Cohen
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number: 993121 (unison version is 991440)
voicing: SATB (S solo) (or unison)
accompaniment: piano
language: Hebrew
text: Psalm 23
year of composition: SATB version in 2001
timing: 3:45
recordings:
level of difficulty: moderate
service: funeral
description: Originally composed for a friend’s funeral, Cohen’s composition has a sweet and tender quality. It should be sung with lyrical phrasing and delicacy of expression.
title: Al HaNissim (For the Miracles)
composer: Dov Frimer (arranged by Joshua Jacobson and Hankus Netsky)
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number: 991306
voicing: SATB, div
accompaniment: piano (and optional clarinet or full klezmer band)
language: Hebrew
text: liturgy for Chanukah
year of composition: 1989 (arrangement)
timing: 2:10
recordings: Lights
level of difficulty: moderate
service: Chanukah
description: This joyous setting of a few words from a Chanukah prayer is in a lively “klezmer” idiom. The lyrics thank God for His miracles. The music is not difficult, but does require sustained energy, especially from the basses who are required to sing forte marcato in the top of their register.
title: American Kedushah, An
composer: Alice Parker
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number: 993125
voicing: SATB (S and T soli)
accompaniment: a cappella
language: Hebrew and English
text: Sabbath morning service
year of composition: 1999
timing: 10:30
recordings: Jewish Composers in America
level of difficulty: challenging
service: Shabbat morning
description: Parker composed this setting on commission from the American Guild of Organists. Other than one traditional Ashkenazic melody (ve’enenu tir’ena), the work is completely original, a lyrical and dramatic setting of the Jewish sanctification of God’s name.
title: Avinu Malkeynu (Our Father, Our King)
composer: Max Janowski
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number: 986203
voicing: SATB, T solo
accompaniment: piano (or organ)
timing: 3:20
language: Hebrew
text: synagogue liturgy
year of composition: 1967
recordings: RCA 77388, Sony 66181
level of difficulty: moderate
service: Yom Kippur or any fast day
description: Janowski’s affinity for the Eastern European styles of synagogue music is apparent in this setting of the penitential prayer, “Avinu Malkeynu” (“Our Father, Our King”). The soloist’s line, in the Aeolian mode, is replete with melismatic ornaments. In the traditional manner, the choir alternatively gives the cantor harmonic support or repeats the main melodic ideas. The keyboard part (piano or organ) is not technically demanding, but is of great interest in its exploration of various colorful modal harmonies.
title: Enosh Kechotzir Yomov (Human Life is Brief)
composer: Louis Lewandowski
publisher: Broude Brothers
catalogue number: CR 65
voicing: SATB
accompaniment: organ
language: Hebrew (English alternate)
text: Psalm 103:15 - 17
year of composition: c. 1882
timing: 4:30
recordings: The Majesty of Holiness, The Songs Live On
level of difficulty: moderate
service: funeral
description: One of Lewandowski’s most moving compositions, this work, written for a memorial service, describes the ephemeral nature of human life in poignant tones. Similar in style to Mendelssohn. An orchestration is available from Transcontinental Publications.
title: Ets Chayim Hi (It Is a Tree of Life)
composer: Robbie Solomon
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number: 993171
voicing: SATB
accompaniment: (optional piano)
language: Hebrew
text: liturgy
year of composition:
timing:
recordings:
level of difficulty: easy to moderate
service: Torah service
description: A sweet setting of the liturgy that ends the Torah service. “The Torah is a tree of life to all those who cling to her.”
title: Half Kaddish (Santification, shorter form)
composer: Jack Gottlieb
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number: 983012
voicing: SATB
accompaniment: piano (or brass ensemble)
language: Aramaic (or English)
text: liturgy
year of composition:
timing: 2:15
recordings: Jewish Composers in America
level of difficulty: challenging
service: any
description: An energetic setting of the Jewish doxology by Leonard Bernstein’s musical assistant. The driving Bernsteinian rhythms give this composition an exciting edge. The modes are somewhat challenging, as is the rapid articulation of the text.
title: Hal’luhu (Praise Him)
composer: Benjie-Ellen Schiller
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number: 991280
voicing: SATB (solo soprano)
accompaniment: piano or guitar and tof (hand drum)
language: Hebrew
text: Psalm 150
year of composition: c. 1987
timing: 2:40
recordings: Jewish Composers in America
level of difficulty: moderate
service: any morning service + Rosh HaShanah Musaf
description: This vibrant setting of Psalm 150 has syncopated horah-like rhythms, mixed meter, and an exotic Mixolydian modality.
title: Halleluyah
composer: Salamone Rossi
publisher: Broude Brothers
catalogue number: CR-25
voicing: SATB
accompaniment: a cappella
timing: 2:30
language: Hebrew (alternate English)
text: Psalm 146
year of composition: 1982
recordings: ROSSI (HZ-910)
level of difficulty: moderate
service: any morning service
description: Salamone Rossi (c. 1570 - c.1630) was a Mantuan violinist and composer in the employ of Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga. He was also the first composer to publish a collection of polyphonic motets for the synagogue. The thirty-three motets, set for three to eight voices, include psalms, hymns and prayers for synagogue services or for sacred concerts. “Halleluyah” is included in the liturgy for Sabbath and festival morning services. Rossi’s setting is largely homophonic, similar in style to church music composed by his Christian colleagues.
title: Halleluyoh
composer: Drechsler, Joseph
publisher: Broude Brothers
catalogue number: CR 64
voicing: satb
accompaniment: a cappella
language: Hebrew (optional English text)
text: Psalm 150
year of composition: c. 1865
timing: 1:40
recordings: The Majesty of Holiness
level of difficulty: moderate
service: any morning service + Rosh HaShanah Musaf
description: Salomon Sulzer, the famed cantor of the Seitentettengasse Synagogue in Vienna for most of the nineteenth century, commissioned this work from Joseph Drechsler, the renowned kappelmeister of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. The music is succinct but charming, homophonic and rather easy to master.
title: Halleluyoh
composer: Louis Lewandowski
publisher: Broude Brothers
catalogue number: CR-74
voicing: SATB
accompaniment: organ (or piano)
language: Hebrew or English
text: Psalm 150
year of composition: ca. 1882
timing: 2:40
recordings: The Majesty of Holiness
level of difficulty: moderate
service: any morning service + Rosh HaShanah Musaf
description: A majestic anthem by the famed choirmaster of the Oranienburgerstrasse synagogue in Berlin, this rousing work has long been a favorite.