Jacob Reed

Jacob Reed plays basso continuo on organ and harpsichord with the Newberry Consort, Haymarket Opera, Bella Voce, Bach in the City, and other ensembles across the Chicagoland area. He teaches music history and theory at the University of Chicago, where he received his PhD, and previously served as Lecturer in Harpsichord at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

In 2023–24, Jacob played Bach at Bond, a series of 30 recitals presenting the complete organ works of J.S. Bach; the previous year, he performed the complete organ works of César Franck. He is currently surveying Bach's harpsichord works on his blog, Left on Reed.

Jacob received a simultaneous BA/MA in music history and theory (double-major in mathematics) from Yale, where he studied organ with Thomas Murray and harpsichord with Arthur Haas. He then graduated with an MM in organ performance from Yale’s School of Music/Institute of Sacred Music, studying with Martin Jean and serving as Organ Scholar at Grace Church in New York City.

Jacob’s performance experience also extends to opera of all eras. In addition to playing continuo in Baroque opera productions across the U.S., Jacob has served as piano accompanist for the Yale Opera Program and performed in John Cage’s Europera 5 under director Yuval Sharon. Jacob has served as artist-in-residence at the Uncommon Music Festival in Sitka, Alaska, accompanies a variety of instruments, singers, and ensembles on piano, and can be talked into picking up a cello or viola da gamba if you ask nicely. jacobreedorgan.com