Bio

short (202 words):

American conductor Jacob Aaron Schnitzer harnesses the powers of music and storytelling to connect with others. Recipient of The Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, Jacob is Associate Conductor of The Missouri Symphony. He is a co-founder and Artistic Director of Density512, a chamber orchestra in Austin, TX, which specializes in merging interdisciplinary storytelling, innovative concert design, and contemporary music. For his work in music and theater, Jacob was selected to be in residence at the Richard Wagner Bayreuth Festival as one of four international participants in its 2024 conducting masterclass. A passionate educator, he is Instructor of Orchestral Conducting at Austin Peay State University and previously served as Interim Director of Orchestra at Kent State University and Teaching Artist at The Missouri Symphony Conservatory. A champion of new music, Jacob has led world premieres of more than 55 works by living composers and co-founded DensitySOUND, a new music media and record label housed by Density512. Jacob studied with Bramwell Tovey at Boston University, Yannick Nézet-Séguin at Domaine Forget de Charlevoix, and earned a doctorate from the UMKC Conservatory with Kevin Noe. When not dreaming of ways to change the world, Jacob hikes, cooks, meditates, reads, and sings to his orange tabby cats.  

full:

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 “an Austin [TX] musical performance incubator” (CTX Live Theater) that specializes in interdisciplinary storytelling, innovative concert design, and contemporary music. For his work at the intersection of music and story, he was selected to be in residence at the Richard Wagner Bayreuth Festival as one of four international participants in its 2024 conducting masterclass.

Jacob has collaborated 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 more than 55 works by living composers and co-founded DensitySOUND, a new music media and record label housed by Density512. His longstanding commitment to collaborating with living composers has led to the development of new works in opera, ballet and multimedia.

A passionate educator, he currently serves as Instructor 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 as a visiting conductor and composer on two tours to Carnegie Hall. 

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.
  
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.