Jacob Greenberg

Jacob Greenberg maintains a multifaceted presence in today’s music world through his roles as pianist, composer, educator, producer, vocal coach, and podcaster, while holding long-standing membership in the International Contemporary Ensemble.

Born near 1975 in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, he completed a double degree in music and religion at Oberlin College before pursuing graduate studies at Northwestern University under Ursula Oppens, ultimately earning both master’s and doctoral degrees there. His work at the keyboard alone has spanned an unusually broad range of formats, encompassing solo recitals, concerto appearances, chamber collaborations, and song partnerships. He has performed with the New York Philharmonic and the Israel Philharmonic, taken part in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW programs alongside orchestra members, and joined Contempo for events at the University of Chicago.

His first recording credit came in 2009, when he accompanied baritone Alexander Hurd on the Centaur release Shadow of the Blues; the solo album Solitary followed on New Focus the next year. He has maintained an ongoing partnership with soprano Tony Arnold, including their 2013 New Focus recording of Olivier Messiaen’s Harawi.

Greenberg’s longest-running affiliation remains with the International Contemporary Ensemble, whose performances under his participation have reached audiences throughout the Western hemisphere and Europe; he also directs the group’s internal Tundra imprint. Beyond the stage, his advocacy for new music appears in multiple New Focus solo projects that have involved fresh commissions, in the concert series Music in Close Range that juxtaposes recent and earlier repertoire, and in The Listening Room, an educational initiative that acquaints school audiences with experimental works. As a composer he creates pieces incorporating spoken and sung text, hosts the podcast Intégrales that examines the interplay between music and urban routines, and serves as a sought-after vocal coach for contemporary opera. His teaching posts have included Hunter College, City University of New York, the Juilliard School, and the State University of New York at Buffalo; he currently joins the faculty of the Tanglewood Music Center. Bright Codes, issued on Tundra in 2021, represents his most recent recorded project.