Apr 24, 2025 By Brad Hundt 4 min read

It was 25 years ago this July that Paul Jacobs broke into the national consciousness with an act that combined deep musical knowledge and sheer stamina.

To mark the 250th anniversary of the death of Johann Sebastian Bach, Jacobs played all of the composer’s organ works in a marathon performance at Upper St. Clair’s Westminster Presbyterian Church. Jacobs, who was then 23 and fresh from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, started at dawn and went well into the night, playing the whole kit and kaboodle from memory. Afterward, he quickly became a force to be reckoned with in the classical music world.

“Time has passed so quickly,” said Jacobs, a Washington-area native and a 1995 graduate of Trinity High School. “It doesn’t feel like it’s been 25 years, and I feel virtually the same. My love for Bach has only magnified over that period.”

It’s a reflection of how far his career has progressed and the esteem in which he is held in the classical world that Jacobs made these observations while on the phone from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, earlier this month while he was there for a couple of performances with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. His schedule for the rest of 2025 includes stops in Atlanta and suburban Los Angeles, as well as an appearance at Saint Vincent Archabbey’s Basilica in Latrobe next Wednesday at 7 p.m., for a concert with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO).

During the performance, Jacobs will be playing the Basilica’s pipe organ with the orchestra on Felix-Alexandre Guilmont’s Organ Symphony No. 1, Opus 42. The concert is a tribute to Douglas R. Nowicki, the archabbot of Saint Vincent Archabbey who died last July at age 79. Though the PSO has sponsored appearances by Jacobs before, this is the first time he has played with the orchestra.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to collaborate with them,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs’ work as a performing musician is happening at the same time he is teaching the next generation of organ players. He is the chairman of the organ department at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York, a job he has held for more than 20 years. His students are “really superb” in his estimation.

“They inspire me,” he explained. “They are dedicated to what they do. I have a lot of confidence in them.”

He cautions his students that a life in music can be fulfilling, but it may not be a path to riches.

“One doesn’t go into the arts to make money, though it is possible to live comfortably,” Jacobs pointed out. “I’ve been very fortunate in that regard, just to make a living doing it. But it can be a struggle. It is deeply rewarding, and the world needs music. It needs beauty. And that’s what (my students) are doing.”

A Grammy winner in 2011 for his recording of Olivier Messiaen’s “Livre du Saint-Sacrement,” Jacobs does worry about the direction of the classical music industry, fretting that it prizes entertainment value over deep and long standing classical traditions.

“It concerns me every day,” he said. “The fundamental problem is there is no music education in the schools that gives a sense of history. It’s important to a society that people play music, even as amateurs.”

Jacobs continued, “I’m serving the tradition. I don’t think for a minute it will become obsolete. There’s so much treasure there. It’s just a matter of exposure. … People are not being exposed to the masterpieces. They are transformative.”

Tickets are available at www.eventsquid.com/event/27186 or by calling 724-805-2177.