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
Titles N-R Recommended Jewish Choral Music
title: Ocho Kandelikas (Eight Little Candles)
composer: Flory Jagoda (arranged by Joshua Jacobson)
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number: 982015 (SA version is 982070)
voicing: SATB (or SA) with alto solo
accompaniment: piano or guitar, percussion ad lib
language: Ladino
text: Flory Jagoda
year of composition: 1990 (arrangement)
timing: 3:10
recordings: Zamir 25
level of difficulty: easy
description: Flory Jagoda’s “Ocho Kandelikas” (Eight Little Candles) paints a picture of the Chanukah ceremonies she remembers from her childhood in Yugoslavia. The piano/guitar accompaniment is very simple (there are only two chords), but the singers are encouraged to add to the fun with various percussion instruments (shakers, tambourines, hand-drums, etc.).
title: Papir Iz Dokh Vais (Paper Is So White)
composer: folk (arranged by Joshua Jacobson)
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number: 982014
voicing: TTBB with T solo
accompaniment: a cappella (optional piano)
language: Yiddish
text: folk
year of composition: 1985 (arrangement)
timing: 3:05
recordings: Songs of Love
level of difficulty: moderate
description: This Yiddish love song from Eastern Europe has been given a lush Brahmsian male-chorus setting.
title: Prayer Before Sleep (from Talmud Suite)
composer: Sid Robinovitch
publisher: Alfred
catalogue number: VEI1091
voicing: SATB (divisi)
accompaniment: a cappella (keyboard for rehearsal only)
language: Hebrew (with alternate English lyrics)
text: Babylonian Talmud
year of composition: 1986 (published)
timing: 3:30
recordings:
level of difficulty: moderate
description: The composer writes “the music is solely a response to an ancient and still very much living tradition through the heart and mind of a modern reader.”
title: Prophecy of Peace, A
composer: Samuel Adler
publisher: Alfred (Lawson Gould)
catalogue number: LG52655
voicing: SATB (divisi)
accompaniment: a cappella (keyboard for rehearsal only)
language: English
text: The Bible—Micah 4:1-4
year of composition: 1993 (published)
timing: 3:20
recordings:
level of difficulty: moderate, some challenging passages
description: This setting of the escatological text from the prophet Micah uses melodic material based on the traditional Jewish cantillation of that text. The language is remeniscent of Copland's "In the Beginning," ranging from unison passages to 2-part counterpoint, shifting triadic harmonies, extended chords and a brilliant ending in C-major.
title: Psalm 20
composer: Charles Osborne
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number: 982029
voicing: SATB (solo soprano)
accompaniment: piano
language: Hebrew
text: Psalm 20
year of composition: 1991
timing: 6:45
recordings: Zamir 25
level of difficulty: moderate, somewhat challenging
description: Osborne dedicated this work to the memory of Leonard Bernstein, and Bernstein’s presence can felt not only in the soaring melodies, but in some carefully hidden quotations from West Side Story.
title: Psalm 23
composer: Elana Katz-Chernin
publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
catalogue number:
voicing: SATB
accompaniment: piano (with optional flute or violin)
language: Hebrew
text: Psalm 23
year of composition: 2006
timing:
recordings:
level of difficulty: moderate
description: Commissioned by the Sydney (Australia) Jewish Choral Society
title: Psalm 114
composer: folk (arranged by Joshua Jacobson)
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number: 982004
voicing: unison choir
accompaniment: a cappella
language: Hebrew and Latin
text: Psalm 114
year of composition: (arranged in 1984)
timing: 3:40
recordings: Italia!
level of difficulty: fairly easy
description: This work juxtaposes two renditions of Psalm 114, both in plainchant. One is the “tonus peregrinus” Gregorian chant, the other is a Jewish chant from North Africa. The remarkable similarity of the two traditions points to a common origin in pre-Christian Jerusalem. The work may be performed by alternating choirs or by a soloist alternating with a choir.
title: Psalm Verses (Eighteen Canons)
composer: Yehezkel Braun
publisher: Israel Music Institute
catalogue number: IMI 6403
voicing: any combination of voices (2 to 5 parts)
accompaniment: a cappella
language: Hebrew (alternate English)
text: Psalms
year of composition: 1982
timing: depends on which canons are chosen and how they are realized
recordings:
level of difficulty: easy to moderate
description: Each of these little gems is a setting of a verse or two from the Psalter. The simpler ones are two-part canons at the unison. The more complex canons involve up to five parts, are in mixed meter, have entrances in different keys and involve inversion of the subject. A word of warning to the conductor: the composer has written many of these in the form of “puzzle canons;” you’ll need to figure out their solutions. But it’s worth the effort. These are fun to sing and lovely to listen to. Use your imagination in selecting a sub-set of the eighteen, allocating them to various combinations of voices, and arranging ways to bring each canon to a conclusion.
title: Psalms of Woe and Joy
composer: Robert Starer
publisher: Transcontinental
catalogue number: 991047
voicing: SATB div
accompaniment: piano
language: Hebrew (English alternate text available)
text: Psalms 6, 136, 148
year of composition: 1975
timing: 9:10
recordings: Gloria Dei Cantores
level of difficulty: challenging
description: The first movement is the Psalm of woe, full of yearning and pain, in a slow tempo. The second movement is a jubilant finale in which the chorus is called on to clap and snap fingers, as well as sing.
title: Roni Akarah (Sing, O Barren)
composer: (and arranger) Paul Ben-Haim
publisher: Israel Music Publications (distributed in the USA by Theodore Presser)
catalogue number: IMP 313, Presser 512-00008
voicing: SATB, solo SATTBB
accompaniment: a cappella
timing: 9:30
language: Hebrew
text: Isaiah 54
year of composition: 1956-57
recordings: RCA International (Camden) LP INTS 1365
level of difficulty: somewhat challenging
description: This four-movement motet is one of Ben-Haim’s finest choral works. Paul Ben-Haim, who emigrated from Germany to Palestine in 1933, is generally regarded as the father of the “Eastern Mediterranean” school of composition, and “Roni Akarah” is a fine example of that style. The modes, rhythms, melodies and textures are reminiscent of he Middle East, while the forms are those of European art music. This work will challenge the finest choirs, and leave a stirring impression on the audience.