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Alumnus appointed organist at National Cathedral

By Trent Chaffee '09
May 16, 2008

St. Olaf College Professor of Organ Music John Ferguson still remembers how fellow music faculty member Alice Hanson reacted after she heard Christopher "Kit" Jacobson's senior organ recital several years ago. "Alice is hard to please," Ferguson says, "and she told me it was one of the best student organ recitals she had ever heard. People forget that it's not the organ that roars -- it's the organist. And Kit roared at his senior recital."

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Jacobson
Jacobson set himself apart from other students through his dedication to practice, says Ferguson ("Ferg"), who is the Elliot and Klara Stockdal Johnson Professor of Organ Music. "Kit had musical intellect, but this guy knew how to work hard," he says. "I told him what he needed to do to go to the next level and he did it. His investment of time and energy has really paid off."

Jacobson, who graduated from St. Olaf in 2003 with a music degree in organ performance, has had nothing short of a meteoric rise as an organist. After serving for nine months as an organ scholar, he was appointed assistant organist and assistant director of music at Washington National Cathedral, an Episcopal church described as a "majestic center of worship at the nation's capital" that welcomes more than 700,000 worshipers and visitors per year. It is the sixth largest cathedral in the world, and its organ features more than 10,650 pipes.

Jacobson took time to share his thoughts about his new job, his St. Olaf experience, and the people who have guided him along the way. After a month in his new position, it's clear that Jacobson is continuing the same work ethic he had at St. Olaf.

When did you decide to turn playing the organ into a career?
When I entered St. Olaf, I had an equal passion for biology and music. I pursued both with great enthusiasm through my sophomore year and then realized that I wasn't able to give both fields the dedication each deserved. I knew that I would make my career out of one of the two fields. After much thought and deliberation, I decided that it was music and playing the organ that I felt more strongly committed to.

How did your instructors shape your St. Olaf education?
One of my most memorable experiences with Ferg happened early in my first year. He had assigned me a couple of pieces to learn from The Orgelbuchlein ("Little Organ Book") by Johann Sebastian Bach. These works are relatively short and straightforward, and I was confident I could play them to his satisfaction in a week's time. After learning the two pieces in their entirety that week, I was shocked when in my first lesson we spent the whole time on how to play just the opening notes of the first piece! Having finally grasped the concepts Ferg had taught me about the first few notes, he said, 'Now go back, do it all again, and this time practice very slowly and apply everything we've worked on and talked about here.' I knew I was in for a long haul, and it wasn't until about three months later that I finally played the two pieces to his satisfaction -- though I suspect never quite completely. I knew that early on Ferg had elevated playing the organ to a whole new level, and for the next four years I was eager to learn, practice and become proficient.

What is it like to perform and teach at the Washington National Cathedral?
Since I started working at the National Cathedral, I have realized that being one of two full-time organists is a great responsibility. Of all the Episcopal churches in America, National Cathedral is probably the most visible, with its web cast services, national telecasts, state services and daily choral evensong. It is a place with a lot of simultaneously moving parts. With eight to 10 musical services per week, all of which have different choral and organ music, it is a great challenge to ensure that everything is executed with ease and the highest quality of musicianship -- whether 30 people are in the congregation or 3,000. My teaching responsibilities include directing the Chorister Training Program, which consists of the recruitment and education of the boy and girl choristers of the Cathedral choirs. It is rewarding to know that I am shaping their development as young professional musicians through our very rigorous music program.

What are your goals in your new position?
I am looking forward to exploring several things. I will continue to streamline the Chorister Training Program. I am also keen on using my time here to not only fine-tune my service-playing skills, but also to develop the recital-playing portion of my career.

Will you be playing outside the Cathedral and continuing to compete in organ competitions?
One of the benefits of working in a large music office and having more than one organist is that it allows me to continue to play recitals outside of Washington. I have always enjoyed performing as a soloist and also as a church musician and will continue to develop both of these facets of organ playing in the coming years. I have enjoyed competing in the past and will do so in the near future, but at the moment my focus is on service playing at the cathedral, training the choirs and playing recitals.

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.