Biography
Simon Jacobs is Organist at St. Thomas Episcopal Parish, Coral Gables, Florida. He was a chorister at Truro Cathedral between 1992 and 1997, and continued his education at Truro School as a music scholar. Having studied the organ with Andrew Nethsingha, Simon Morley and Christopher Gray, he was made an Associate of the Royal College of Organists in 2001, winning three prizes. Whilst Organ Scholar at Christ’s College, Cambridge from 2002-2005, he toured Australia, the USA and Canada with the Chapel Choir; broadcast on BBC Radio 4; and recorded two CDs, to critical acclaim.
After graduating from Cambridge with a degree in music, Simon held consecutive Organ Scholarships at Salisbury Cathedral (2005-6) and Westminster Abbey (2006-7). As well as playing for services and conducting the choirs on a daily basis, he accompanied Salisbury Cathedral Choir on their successful tour to Northern Italy; appeared on a CD of music for the Blessed Virgin Mary; and played an integral role in the prestigious Southern Cathedrals Festival of 2006. Whilst at Westminster Abbey, Simon gave five Sunday Evening Organ Recitals, including one as part of a series commemorating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Edward Elgar, and regularly accompanied the Parliamentary Choir and the Choir of St. Margaret’s, Westminster.
Simon has worked with many eminent choral directors, including James O’ Donnell, Barry Rose and Joshua Habermann, and from 2004-5, he was Accompanist for the Chorus of the Cambridge University Musical Society under the direction of Stephen Cleobury, Director of Music at King’s College, Cambridge. He has appeared in such venues as Truro, Hereford, Westminster and Salisbury Cathedrals; Westminster and St. Albans’s Abbeys; Washington National Cathedral, The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, NYC, and Grace Cathedral, San Francisco; and at King’s, St. John’s, Christ’s, Clare, St. Catherine’s and Queen’s Colleges, Cambridge.
In addition to his work at St. Thomas, Simon is a vocal coach, accompanist and keyboard tutor at New World School of the Arts, Miami, teaching both college and high school students. He is also co-founder of the Anglican Chorale of the Diocese of Southeast Florida, whose raison d'ȇtre is the singing of the magnificent office of Choral Evensong.
In the Fall of 2010, Simon will move to New Haven, CT to pursue a Masters of Music in Choral Conducting at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music.
