Paul Jacobs Organ Concert

Grammy Award-Winning Organist Paul Jacobs

to Perform at Christ Church in Short Hills

on Sunday, May 21, 2023

Christ Church in Short Hills welcomes Grammy-award winning organist Paul Jacobs for a solo recital concert on Sunday, May 21, 2023 at 4:00 pm. The special, one-day only concert will feature a selection of works, including J.S. Bach, and showcasing the church's historic Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1347 pipe organ, which is the largest of its kind in New Jersey. The signature performance at Christ Church in Short Hills commemorates the church's 140th Anniversary. 

Paul Jacobs has been heralded as "one of the major musicians of our time," by Alex Rose of The New Yorker and as "America's Leading Organ Performer" by The Economist. He is an internationally celebrated organist who combines a probing intellect and extraordinary technical mastery with an unusually large repertoire, both old and new. 

The Paul Jacobs Organ concert is presented free of charge. Free will donations are welcome. A Reception will follow the performance in the Parish Hall of Christ Church in Short Hills located at 66 Highland Avenue, Short Hills. 

About the Artist

An eloquent champion of his instrument, Paul Jacobs is known for his imaginative interpretations and charismatic stage presence. He has performed to great critical acclaim on five continents and in each of the fifty United States and is the only organist ever to have won a Grammy Award—in 2011 for Messiaen’s towering “Livre du Saint-Sacrément.” No other organist is so frequently re-invited as soloist to perform with prestigious orchestras, thus making him a pioneer in the movement for the revival of symphonic music featuring the organ.

Prodigiously talented from his earliest years, at 15 years old Jacobs was appointed head organist of a parish of 3,500 in his hometown, Washington, Pennsylvania. Mr. Jacobs studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, double-majoring in organ and harpsichord, and at Yale University. 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. 

Mr. Jacobs has moved audiences, colleagues, and critics alike with landmark performances of the complete works for solo organ by J.S. Bach and Messiaen, as well as works by a vast array of other composers. He 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.

A fierce advocate of new music, Mr. Jacobs has premiered works by numerous composers. As a teacher he has also been a vocal proponent of the redeeming nature of traditional and contemporary classical music. 

In addition to his concert and teaching appearances, Mr. Jacobs is a frequent performer at festivals across the world, and has appeared on American Public Media’s Performance Today, Pipedreams, and Saint Paul Sunday, as well as NPR’s Morning Edition, ABC-TV’s World News Tonight, and BBC Radio 3. In 2017 he received an honorary doctorate from Washington and Jefferson College. Mr. Jacobs has written several articles for the Wall Street Journal.

About the Organ

The organ at Christ Church in Short Hills is a 63 rank Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1347 designed by organ builder Joseph Whiteford in 1960. It is the largest of its kind in the state of New Jersey. The organ was restored in 2015 by Adam Dieffenbach and Steve Emery of Emery Brothers Organs in Allentown, PA. The new antiphonal organ and Trompette en Chamade was tonally designed by organ builder, Bynum Petty. The Aeolian-Skinner rebuild was part of a $1.2 million restoration of the sanctuary by the congregation of Christ Church in Short Hills.                               

Christ Church in Short Hills

Christ Church in Short Hills, established in 1882, is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark and the worldwide Anglican Communion. Christ Church in Short Hills is located at 66 Highland Avenue, Short Hills. For more information, please visit: www.christchurchshorthills.org