birth_place label background instrument birth_date genre article_title name occupation
washington , pennsylvania naxos and jav recordings non_vocal_instrumentalist organ 1977 classical music paul jacobs -lrb- organist -rrb-
 paul jacobs organist
paul jacobs -lrb- organist -rrb-

paul jacobs -lrb- born 1977 -rrb- is an american organist .
he is the first organist to receive a grammy award .
jacobs is currently the chair of the juilliard school 's organ department .
paul jacobs began piano lessons at age five and organ lessons at age 12 in his hometown of washington , pennsylvania .
at age 15 he was appointed head organist of immaculate conception church , a parish of over 3,500 families .
jacobs then attended the curtis institute of music in philadelphia , double-majoring in organ -lrb- with john weaver -rrb- and harpsichord -lrb- with lionel party -rrb- , while serving as organist at the washington memorial chapel in valley forge national historical park .
during his final semester as an undergraduate student , he performed the complete organ works of johann sebastian bach several times , including once in an 18-hour non-stop marathon concert in pittsburgh on the 250th anniversary of the composer 's death -lrb- july 28 , 2000 -rrb- .
jacobs completed a master 's degree from the yale school of music , studying organ with thomas murray .
jacobs has performed the complete organ works of olivier messiaen in eight american cities since 2002 , each time in a nine-hour marathon concert .
in 2003 jacobs was invited to join the faculty of the juilliard school and the following year , was named chairman of its organ department , making him one of the youngest faculty appointments in the school 's history .
winning accolades and awareness for the pipe organ from both critics and audiences alike , jacobs has performed on five continents , and by the age of 32 performed in each of the 50 united states .
his repertoire includes music from the 16th century through contemporary times , including new works written for him .
he has appeared as soloist with the philadelphia orchestra , the chicago symphony orchestra , the cincinnati symphony orchestra , the san francisco symphony , the phoenix symphony , and the pacific symphony .
jacobs is known for playing demanding programs exclusively from memory .
he has memorized the complete works of olivier messiaen , as well as the complete works of johann sebastian bach , johannes brahms , and césar franck .
in addition to numerous awards and honors , jacobs was the first organist to be given the harvard musical association 's arthur w. foote award in 2004 .
he received the yale school of music 's distinguished alumni award in 2005 , and in 2007 he was awarded the william schuman scholars chair at the juilliard school .
he won a grammy award for best instrumental soloist performance -lrb- without orchestra -rrb- at the 53rd grammy awards in 2011 for his recording of messiaen : `` livre du saint-sacrement '' .
an advocate for new music , jacobs has premiered works by mason bates , michael daugherty , christopher theofanidis , samuel adler , and wayne oquin .
