Around the Town Concert: If You Love for Love: The Passionate Life of Gustav Mahler

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.

Praised for her polished, graceful stage presence “with a lush sound… [and] a delicate sensibility” (Singerpreneur magazine), mezzo soprano Aubrey Hawkinson relocated to Decatur, IL, from Los Angeles, CA, in 2019. Her most recent performance of Madame de la Grande Bouche in the Springfield Muni Opera’s production of Beauty and the Beast was hailed as “exceptional” by The Illinois Times. Mrs. Hawkinson’s Kimmel Center debut was as a Westminster Symphonic Choir soloist in Nico Muhly’s Bright Mass with Cannons orchestral premier performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra. In addition to co-founding and producing Hawkmore Lyric Opera Company’s inaugural staged production I Capuleti e i Montecchi, she also starred as the leading role of Romeo in March 2018. In Los Angeles, Mrs. Hawkinson’s performances included an exclusive grand opening of the Pacific Visions Theater with Long Beach Opera, chorus work in Pacific Opera Project’s Carmen that was featured on PBS’s “Live at the Ford'' broadcast, and the chorus of LA Opera’s Hubble Cantata. Past roles performed include Judy (Considering Matthew Sheppard), Charlotte (Werther), Mrs. Grose (The Turn of the Screw), Romeo (I Capuletti e i Montecchi), Marta (Iolanta), First Lady & Second Lady (Die Zauberflӧte), Polly (The Threepenny Opera), Mrs. Anderson (A Little Night Music) and two seasons with the Dickens Carolers of Disneyland, CA. Mrs. Hawkinson holds a Bachelor’s Degree in vocal performance from Northern Arizona University, and a Master of Music Degree in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College. Mrs. Hawkinson is the Full Time Lecturer of Opera and Voice at Millikin University with a mission to make opera approachable, relatable, and entertaining to wide audiences.