LATEST NEWS

Two premieres this May! Hope to see you there!

Looking forward to the May 3, 2018 Symphony Band concert at UW-River Falls, which will honor three momentous Czech anniversaries in 2018.  These three anniversaries include: 100 years since Czechoslovakia declared independence, 50 years since Prague Spring, and 25 years since the founding of the Czech Republic.  So grateful to have been commissioned by this tremendous band and look forward to the world premiere of my piece, “Památník” (memorial), conducted by Dr. Kris Tjornehoj.  

On May 19 and 20, I am excited to have my choral piece "To Soar With Peace" premiered by the magnificent Jubilate Chorale, led by Vicki Taylor.  My composition is adapted from Isaiah 40:31 and Matthew 11:28-29, and is a musical representation of the relationship between trouble and grace in the world.  Please see location and tickets details in the poster to the right.  
So thrilled to have been chosen as the winner of the 2017 Fissinger Choral Composition Prize, sponsored by the NDSU Challey School of Music. I attended the performance of my piece, Our Rhyme, on March 18, 2018, in Fargo, ND.  What an honor and blessing to hear this choir perform!  Click here to learn more.
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I am honored to have completed my first season as composer-in-residence with Midsummer's Music (Door County, WI). This past summer, Midsummer's delivered six performances of my work, including the world premiere of my quintet, Death's Door (which they commissioned), and my elegiac trio, Sempre nella luce, for flute, cello, and piano. I'm excited to join the festival next summer for another year in residence! Thank you to artistic director Jim Berkenstock and all the fantastic people at Midsummer's for making this dream a reality!
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I am thrilled and honored to be named one of the national winners in Dolce Suono Ensemble's 2017 Steven Stucky Young Composers Competition! My piece, Sempre nella luce (fl., vc., pno.), received its world premiere at the Curtis Institute of Music on Tuesday, May 9, 2017 (photo above).
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The public premiere of my Furiant for Concert Band took place on Saturday, September 24, 2016 at
​UW-River Falls at their Homecoming Band Concert. I'm so grateful to Dr. ​Kristin Tjornehoj for her support!

EDUCATION

CZECH CONNECTION

Jacob developed a strong connection to his paternal heritage in the Czech Republic after doing extensive genealogical research on his family's roots. In June 2013, he traveled to Southern Bohemia to visit the Beránek family ancestral home (above). 

Jacob has had an undeniable love for Czech music since an early age. In fact, when he was just nine years old, he begged his mom to take a trip to Spillville, Iowa, so he could experience where his favorite composer, Antonín Dvořák, spent the summer of 1893.

He traveled to the Czech Republic again in June 2015 and March 2017 to study piano and composition in Prague. Read more about Jacob's 2015 adventure in the Blog section.
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Thank you to Kara Reese Photography for many of the outstanding pictures seen throughout this website.  
​Click here to learn more.