American conductor Jacob Aaron Schnitzer harnesses the powers of music and storytelling to connect with others. His work as a conductor spans symphonic, opera, and contemporary repertoire; his work in immersive concert design offers audiences unforgettable multisensory experiences.

Recipient of The Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, Jacob was recently promoted to Associate Conductor of The Missouri Symphony. He is a co-founder and Artistic Director of Density512, a chamber orchestra hailed as “a crack new-music ensemble” (Gramophone) that specializes in interdisciplinary storytelling and innovative concert design. For his work at the intersection of music and story, he was selected to be in residence at the Richard Wagner Bayreuth Festival Masterclass Conducting.

Jacob’s commitment to collaborating with living composers has led to the development of new works in opera, ballet, symphonic, and video game music.  He has led on performances at the SXSW Music Festival, Firefly Music Festival,  Blanton Museum of Art, Fast Forward Austin, Here Be Monsters, The Contemporary Austin, Fusebox Festival, and with National Geographic Explorer Stuart Hyatt at the Cave Without a Name. A champion of new music, Jacob has led world premieres of nearly 70 works. Jacob’s recordings of contemporary music can be heard on Density512’s in-house label DensitySOUND and Toccata Classics.

In his work as a creative director, Jacob integrates theater and multimedia elements into immersive musical experiences. In recent projects, Jacob has served as a stage director, filmmaker, lighting designer, dramaturg, poet, mixing engineer, and clown. A passionate educator, he currently serves as Director of Orchestral Activities at Austin Peay State University and previously served as Interim Director of Orchestra at Kent State University, Teaching Artist at The Missouri Symphony Conservatory, and joined Booker T. Washington High School for the Visual and Performing Arts on two tours to Carnegie Hall. 

Jacob participated in masterclasses with Yannick Nézet-Séguin at Domaine Forget de Charlevoix. His principal mentors include conductors Kevin Noe, Bramwell Tovey, Joshua Gersen, and Peter Bay as well as composers Zhou Long, Yevgeniy Sharlat, Richard Cornell, and Donald Grantham. He holds degrees from the UMKC Conservatory, Boston University, and The University of Texas at Austin.

When not dreaming of ways to change the world, Jacob hikes, cooks, meditates, reads, and sings to his orange tabby cats.       

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