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Published: February 02, 2018

UT's Sykes Chapel Concert Artist Series Welcomes Organist Paul Jacobs

On Sunday, Feb. 11, The University of Tampa will welcome Paul Jacobs, the only organist to ever win a Grammy Award (in 2011 for Messiaen's "Livre du Saint-Sacrement"), as part of the Sykes Chapel Concert Artist Series. The concert will begin at 2 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

The program will include music of two composers, J.S. Bach and Franz Liszt. Jacobs will perform Bach's "Sinfonia from Cantata 29," "Trio Sonata No. 4 in E Minor," "Arioso from Cantata 156," and "Prelude and Fugue in D." He will also perform Liszt's "Fantasy and Fugue on the chorale 'ad nos as Salutarem undam.'"

Heralded as "one of the major musicians of our time" by The New Yorker's Alex Ross, Jacobs made musical history at the age of 23 when he played Bach's complete organ works in an 18-hour marathon performance on the 250th anniversary of the composer's death. He joined the faculty of The Juilliard School in 2003 and was named chairman of the organ department in 2004, one of the youngest faculty appointees in the school's history. He received Juilliard's prestigious William Schuman Scholar's Chair in 2007.

An eloquent champion of his instrument who argues that the organ for too long has been excluded from the mainstream of classical music, Jacobs is known for his imaginative interpretations and charismatic stage presence. No other organist alive today is repeatedly invited as soloist to perform with the country's preeminent orchestras, thus making him a pioneer in the movement for the revival of symphonic music featuring the organ.

The concert is free, but seating is limited. Doors will open 30 minutes before the performance. Parking is available on campus.

For more information, go to www.ut.edu/sykeschapel or email sykeschapelconcerts@ut.edu, or Haig Mardirosian, artistic director for the Sykes Chapel Concert Artist Series, at hmardirosian@ut.edu.


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