A Matter of Taste

Jacobsen Woollen is a conductor, cellist, and tenor residing in Springfield, Illinois, where he serves as Resident Conductor of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Conductor of the Illinois Symphony Youth Orchestra, Music Director of the Springfield Choral Society, and Conductor of the UIS Orchestra.

Jacobsen is also active in the opera world, having served as Assistant Conductor at Atlanta Opera, Detroit Opera, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis, where he led several workshops for new works, including Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up In My Bones.

An Indiana native, Jacobsen returned to the Midwest after spending six years in Vienna, Austria, where he completed a Post-Graduate Diploma in orchestral conducting under the tutelage of Prof. Mark Stringer at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, conducted professional ensembles including the Polska Filharmonia Baltycka and Ensemble Ultreia, served as assistant conductor of the Vienna Opera Festival, and led the Schlosschor Hadersfeld.

Jacobsen also maintains an active career as a tenor: as a member of the Grammy-winning Arnold Schoenberg Choir, Jacobsen participated in opera productions at Theater an der Wien, as well as concerts in Europe’s most renowned venues, including Vienna’s Musikverein and Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie.

Prior to his European sojourn, Jacobsen completed a Master’s Degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Michigan under the guidance of Kenneth Kiesler. During this time, he was active in the Ann Arbor musical community as well, serving as founder and director of Paradigm Shift Chamber Orchestra, music director of the Ann Arbor Camerata, and assistant conductor of the Michigan Life Sciences Orchestra.

As a cellist, Jacobsen was a student of Susan Moses in the Indiana University String Academy and later completed a Bachelor’s Degree with Richard Aaron at the University of Michigan. He has appeared as a soloist with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, Musical Arts Youth Orchestra, and Voces Novae Chamber Choir. As a chamber musician, he has had the pleasure of collaborating with Joshua Bell, Jaime Laredo, Soovin Kim, and many others. From 2013-16, Jacobsen was cellist and artistic curator with the new-music sextet Latitude 49, and he continues to serve on their Board of Directors.