Isaiah Jackson
Encyclopedia
Isaiah Allen Jackson is an African American
conductor
of world renown. He has recently concluded a seven year term as conductor of the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston
, of which he has been named Conductor Emeritus. He is the first African-American to be appointed to a music directorship in the Boston area.
, the son of an orthopedic surgeon (also named Isaiah Allen Jackson) and his wife Alma Alverta Jackson née Norris. His grandfather was also a surgeon. Arthur Ashe
was one of his childhood friends. When he was 2 years old, he fell on a milk bottle and severed the tendons of his wrist. His father prescribed music lessons for therapy, which he began at age 4, showing immediate dedication and aptitude. From age 14, he studied at Putney, a progressive, integrated and academically intense private boarding school near Brattleboro
in Vermont
. During his time there, he traveled with his high school class to the former Soviet Union
. He also took part in a picket of the local Woolworth's
store in support of the lunch counter sit-in
s that were happening in the South for equality and equal access for African-Americans.
Jackson studied Russian history and literature at Harvard University
, from which he graduated cum laude in 1966. While there, he had the opportunity to conduct Mozart
’s opera Così fan tutte
, which helped him decide to pursue music as a career. Subsequently, he went to Stanford University
and received his M.A. in music in 1969. He studied with Nadia Boulanger
in Fontainebleau
, France
, before going to the Juilliard School
in New York
, from which he graduated D.M.A. in 1973. He also studied at Aspen, Colorado
and Tanglewood
. At Harvard, he is a Fellow in the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute
.
He founded the Juilliard String Ensemble and was its first conductor 1970-71. He was associate or assistant conductor with the American Symphony Orchestra
(1970-71) where he worked with Leopold Stokowski
; the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
(1971-73); and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
(1973-87). He was appointed music director of the Flint Symphony Orchestra (Flint, Michigan
) in 1982, the first black music director of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra
in 1987 (where he conducted Dayton's first-ever performance of Mahler
's Symphony No. 8, Symphony of a Thousand
), and principal conductor of The Royal Ballet, Covent Garden
, in 1986, and became its music director 1987-90. He was the first black and the first American to occupy a chief position with the company.
He has been a guest conductor with such orchestras as the New York Philharmonic
, 1978; San Francisco Symphony
, 1984; Detroit Symphony Orchestra
, 1983 and 1985; Cleveland Orchestra
, 1983-84, 1986-87, and 1989-92; Boston Pops
, 1983 and 1990-92 (he was the orchestra’s first black conductor, and the first black conductor to lead the annual "Gospel Night" program), Toronto Symphony Orchestra
, 1984 and 1990; Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
, 1985 and 1988; BBC Concert Orchestra
, 1987; and the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, 1989-91. He has also conducted the Vienna Symphony (European debut, July 1973), Houston Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Grant Park Festival Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
, Louisville Orchestra
, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
, Malmo Symphony, Gaeveleborg Symphony, Czech Symphonic Orchestra (at the opening of the Prague Autumn International Music Festival
), Stockholm Symphonic Wind Orchestra, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra
, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, RAI Orchestra, Youngstown Symphony Orchestra
, and the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.
. He has also performed with the Dance Theatre of Harlem
at the Spoleto Festival
in Italy and at the Royal Opera House, London. He was also music director of the New York Youth Symphony
. In 1973, at Leonard Bernstein
’s suggestion, he was Artistic Director of the Vienna Youth Music Festival. He was the first person of colour to conduct the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra. He is a particular favorite in Australia
, having been principal guest conductor of the Queensland Orchestra in Brisbane for three years and of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra
; he has also led the Sydney Symphony, West Australian Symphony
, Tasmanian Symphony
, Adelaide Symphony
, and Melbourne Symphony
orchestras. He is also Musician in Residence at the Memorial Church, Harvard University.
While conducting at Rochester, he met his wife Helen Tuntland, president of Hochstein School of Music and Dance and a consultant in the field of music education. They have three children, Benjamin, Katharine and Caroline. In 1987, he and his family moved to Hammersmith
, London. He acknowledges he is an anglophile and he has conducted before members of Britain's royal family on several occasions. He speaks five languages.
He has served as a member of the board of directors of the Ralph Bunche
Scholarship Fund, and a member of the music panel of the New York State Council on the Arts
.
Isaiah Jackson won the first Governor's Award for the Arts of the Commonwealth of Virginia
, 1979; and in 1991 he was awarded the Signet Society Medal for Achievements in the Arts, awarded by the Signet Society
of Harvard University.
His recordings include music by Bernard Herrmann
, Miklós Rózsa
, Franz Waxman
(For the Fallen), William Grant Still
, Alberto Ginastera
, William Mathias
and Nigel Butterley
. He recorded the Berlin Symphony’s New Year’s Eve concert. Jackson conducted the Louisville Orchestra and gospel choirs from the Louisville, Kentucky area under the direction of Alvin Parris III. The CD grew out of a project between Jackson and Parris. The project was presented in fourteen U.S. cities; it also opened the Brisbane Biennial Festival of Music and was performed in the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.
He was formerly Artist-in-Residence at the University of Dayton
, where he taught Philosophy of Music. He has been Visiting Professor of Conducting at the Hochschule der Künste
, Berlin
's premier conservatory. He has also taught at Juilliard, Stanford, the University of Michigan
, and Youngstown State University
.
Dr. Jackson currently teaches at the Berklee College of Music
, the Harvard Extension School
, and the Longy School of Music
. He is also President of Rhythm, Rhyme, Results
, an educational music company specializing in curriculum-based educational rap and pop songs.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
of world renown. He has recently concluded a seven year term as conductor of the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, of which he has been named Conductor Emeritus. He is the first African-American to be appointed to a music directorship in the Boston area.
Biography
Isaiah Jackson was born in a "Black" neighborhood of Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, the son of an orthopedic surgeon (also named Isaiah Allen Jackson) and his wife Alma Alverta Jackson née Norris. His grandfather was also a surgeon. Arthur Ashe
Arthur Ashe
Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. was a professional tennis player, born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. During his career, he won three Grand Slam titles, putting him among the best ever from the United States...
was one of his childhood friends. When he was 2 years old, he fell on a milk bottle and severed the tendons of his wrist. His father prescribed music lessons for therapy, which he began at age 4, showing immediate dedication and aptitude. From age 14, he studied at Putney, a progressive, integrated and academically intense private boarding school near Brattleboro
Brattleboro, Vermont
Brattleboro, originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States, located in the southeast corner of the state, along the state line with New Hampshire. The population was 12,046 at the 2010 census...
in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. During his time there, he traveled with his high school class to the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. He also took part in a picket of the local Woolworth's
F. W. Woolworth Company
The F. W. Woolworth Company was a retail company that was one of the original American five-and-dime stores. The first successful Woolworth store was opened on July 18, 1879 by Frank Winfield Woolworth in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as "Woolworth's Great Five Cent Store"...
store in support of the lunch counter sit-in
Sit-in
A sit-in or sit-down is a form of protest that involves occupying seats or sitting down on the floor of an establishment.-Process:In a sit-in, protesters remain until they are evicted, usually by force, or arrested, or until their requests have been met...
s that were happening in the South for equality and equal access for African-Americans.
Jackson studied Russian history and literature at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, from which he graduated cum laude in 1966. While there, he had the opportunity to conduct Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
’s opera Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
, which helped him decide to pursue music as a career. Subsequently, he went to Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and received his M.A. in music in 1969. He studied with Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...
in Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, before going to the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, from which he graduated D.M.A. in 1973. He also studied at Aspen, Colorado
Aspen, Colorado
The City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
and Tanglewood
Tanglewood
Tanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...
. At Harvard, he is a Fellow in the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute
W. E. B. Du Bois Institute
The W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research is located at Harvard University and was established in 1969. It is named after W. E. B. Du Bois who was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University...
.
He founded the Juilliard String Ensemble and was its first conductor 1970-71. He was associate or assistant conductor with the American Symphony Orchestra
American Symphony Orchestra
The American Symphony Orchestra is a New York-based American orchestra founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski, then aged 80. Following Maestro Stokowski's departure, Kazuyoshi Akiyama was appointed Music Director of the American Symphony Orchestra from 1973-1978. Music Directors during the early...
(1970-71) where he worked with Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
; the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is a professional American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland.In September 2007, Maestra Marin Alsop led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra’s twelfth music director, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra.The BSO Board...
(1971-73); and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra is an American orchestra based in the city of Rochester, Monroe County, New York. Its primary concert venue is the Eastman Theatre at the Eastman School of Music....
(1973-87). He was appointed music director of the Flint Symphony Orchestra (Flint, Michigan
Flint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
) in 1982, the first black music director of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra
Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra
The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra is a fully professional musical group in Dayton, Ohio, formed in 1933. It is a member of the League of American Orchestras and the Regional Orchestra Players' Association , and presents programs mainly of classical music, but also occasionally performs world...
in 1987 (where he conducted Dayton's first-ever performance of Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
's Symphony No. 8, Symphony of a Thousand
Symphony No. 8 (Mahler)
The Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major by Gustav Mahler is one of the largest-scale choral works in the classical concert repertoire. Because it requires huge instrumental and vocal forces it is frequently called the "Symphony of a Thousand", although the work is often performed with fewer than a...
), and principal conductor of The Royal Ballet, Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, in 1986, and became its music director 1987-90. He was the first black and the first American to occupy a chief position with the company.
He has been a guest conductor with such orchestras as the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, 1978; San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization...
, 1984; Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its main performance center is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood...
, 1983 and 1985; Cleveland Orchestra
Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall...
, 1983-84, 1986-87, and 1989-92; Boston Pops
Boston Pops Orchestra
The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, that specializes in playing light classical and popular music....
, 1983 and 1990-92 (he was the orchestra’s first black conductor, and the first black conductor to lead the annual "Gospel Night" program), Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario.-History:The TSO was founded in 1922 as the New Symphony Orchestra, and gave its first concert at Massey Hall in April 1923. The orchestra changed its name to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1927. The TSO...
, 1984 and 1990; Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande is a Swiss symphony orchestra, based in Geneva at the Victoria Hall...
, 1985 and 1988; BBC Concert Orchestra
BBC Concert Orchestra
The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five which is not a full-scale symphony orchestra....
, 1987; and the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, 1989-91. He has also conducted the Vienna Symphony (European debut, July 1973), Houston Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Grant Park Festival Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra, based in Calgary, Alberta. The orchestra gives the majority of its performances in the Jack Singer Concert Hall of the EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts...
, Louisville Orchestra
Louisville Orchestra
The Louisville Orchestra is the primary orchestra in Louisville, Kentucky and has been called the cornerstone of the Louisville arts scene. It was founded in 1937 by Robert Whitney and Charles Farnsley, Mayor of Louisville...
, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Helsinki, Finland...
, Malmo Symphony, Gaeveleborg Symphony, Czech Symphonic Orchestra (at the opening of the Prague Autumn International Music Festival
Prague Autumn International Music Festival
Prague Autumn International Music Festival was the second largest classical music festival in Prague held annually in September. It was organised under the auspices of Václav Klaus, president of the Czech republic and was co-produced by the City of Prague.-History:The history of the festival...
), Stockholm Symphonic Wind Orchestra, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra
Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (SOCR)
The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra is based in Prague in the Czech Republic.- History :Regular radio broadcasting began in the Czech Republic in May, 1923. Live classical musical broadcasts became very popular...
, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, RAI Orchestra, Youngstown Symphony Orchestra
Youngstown Symphony Orchestra
The Youngstown Symphony is a symphony orchestra based in Youngstown, Ohio. Now based in downtown Youngstown's Powers Auditorium, the symphony has been performing classical music for Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley since 1925. The symphony is conducted by Randall Craig Fleischer.- Performance...
, and the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. He has also performed with the Dance Theatre of Harlem
Dance Theatre of Harlem
Dance Theatre of Harlem is a ballet company and school of the allied arts founded in Harlem, New York City, USA in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook...
at the Spoleto Festival
Festival dei Due Mondi
The Festival dei Due Mondi ' is an annual summer music and opera festival held each June to early July in Spoleto, Italy, since its founding by composer Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958...
in Italy and at the Royal Opera House, London. He was also music director of the New York Youth Symphony
New York Youth Symphony
The New York Youth Symphony is a tuition-free music organization for youth in New York City. Its programs include its flagship symphony orchestra, Chamber Music program, Jazz Band Classic, Apprentice Conducting, and Making Score. Its members range from 12 to 22 years of age...
. In 1973, at Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
’s suggestion, he was Artistic Director of the Vienna Youth Music Festival. He was the first person of colour to conduct the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra. He is a particular favorite in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, having been principal guest conductor of the Queensland Orchestra in Brisbane for three years and of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra
Canberra Symphony Orchestra
Canberra Symphony Orchestra is the principal professional orchestra of the Australian Capital Territory based in Canberra, the national capital of Australia....
; he has also led the Sydney Symphony, West Australian Symphony
West Australian Symphony Orchestra
The West Australian Symphony Orchestra , often known as the "Orchestra of the West", is the premier professional orchestra of the state of Western Australia.-History:...
, Tasmanian Symphony
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is the smallest of the six orchestras established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation .-Activities:...
, Adelaide Symphony
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra was founded as a 17 player radio ensemble in 1936, in Adelaide, South Australia. The orchestra reformed in 1949 as the 55 member South Australian Symphony Orchestra. It reverted to its original and present title, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, in late 1974, and...
, and Melbourne Symphony
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia. It has 100 permanent musicians. Melbourne has the longest continuous history of orchestral music of any Australian city and the MSO is the oldest professional orchestra in Australia...
orchestras. He is also Musician in Residence at the Memorial Church, Harvard University.
While conducting at Rochester, he met his wife Helen Tuntland, president of Hochstein School of Music and Dance and a consultant in the field of music education. They have three children, Benjamin, Katharine and Caroline. In 1987, he and his family moved to Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
, London. He acknowledges he is an anglophile and he has conducted before members of Britain's royal family on several occasions. He speaks five languages.
He has served as a member of the board of directors of the Ralph Bunche
Ralph Bunche
Ralph Johnson Bunche or 1904December 9, 1971) was an American political scientist and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Palestine. He was the first person of color to be so honored in the history of the Prize...
Scholarship Fund, and a member of the music panel of the New York State Council on the Arts
New York State Council on the Arts
The New York State Council on the Arts is an arts council serving the U.S. state of New York. It was established in 1960 through a bill introduced in the New York State Legislature by New York State Senator MacNeil Mitchell , with backing from Governor Nelson Rockefeller, and began its work in 1961...
.
Isaiah Jackson won the first Governor's Award for the Arts of the Commonwealth of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, 1979; and in 1991 he was awarded the Signet Society Medal for Achievements in the Arts, awarded by the Signet Society
Signet society
The Signet Society of Harvard University was founded in 1870 by members of the class of 1871. The first president was Charles Joseph Bonaparte. It was, at first, dedicated to the production of literary work only, going so far as to exclude debate and even theatrical productions. According to The...
of Harvard University.
His recordings include music by Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann was an American composer noted for his work in motion pictures.An Academy Award-winner , Herrmann is particularly known for his collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock, most famously Psycho, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo...
, Miklós Rózsa
Miklós Rózsa
Miklós Rózsa was a Hungarian-born composer trained in Germany , and active in France , England , and the United States , with extensive sojourns in Italy from 1953...
, Franz Waxman
Franz Waxman
Franz Waxman was a German-American composer, known for his bravura Carmen Fantasie for violin and orchestra, based on musical themes from the Bizet opera Carmen, and for his musical scores for films....
(For the Fallen), William Grant Still
William Grant Still
William Grant Still was an African-American classical composer who wrote more than 150 compositions. He was the first African American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, the first to have a symphony performed by a leading orchestra, the first to have an opera performed by a major...
, Alberto Ginastera
Alberto Ginastera
Alberto Evaristo Ginastera was an Argentine composer of classical music. He is considered one of the most important Latin American classical composers.- Biography :...
, William Mathias
William Mathias
William Mathias CBE was a Welsh composer.-Brief biography:Mathias was born in Whitland, Carmarthenshire. A child prodigy, he started playing the piano at the age of three and composing at the age of five. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music under Lennox Berkeley, where he was elected a fellow...
and Nigel Butterley
Nigel Butterley
Nigel Henry Cockburn Butterley AM is an Australian composer and pianist.-Life and career:Butterley learnt to play the piano at the age of five. He attended Sydney Grammar School, but as music wasn't taught at the school at that time, he also sought training from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music....
. He recorded the Berlin Symphony’s New Year’s Eve concert. Jackson conducted the Louisville Orchestra and gospel choirs from the Louisville, Kentucky area under the direction of Alvin Parris III. The CD grew out of a project between Jackson and Parris. The project was presented in fourteen U.S. cities; it also opened the Brisbane Biennial Festival of Music and was performed in the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.
He was formerly Artist-in-Residence at the University of Dayton
University of Dayton
The University of Dayton is a private Roman Catholic university operated by the Society of Mary located in Dayton, Ohio...
, where he taught Philosophy of Music. He has been Visiting Professor of Conducting at the Hochschule der Künste
Berlin University of the Arts
The Universität der Künste Berlin, UdK is a public art school in Berlin, Germany, one of the four universities in the city...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
's premier conservatory. He has also taught at Juilliard, Stanford, the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, and Youngstown State University
Youngstown State University
Youngstown State University, founded in 1908, is an urban research university located in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. As of fall 2010, there were 15,194 students and a student-faculty ratio of 19:1. It is recognized as being one of the premier schools in the country, comparable to Ivy League...
.
Dr. Jackson currently teaches at the Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
, the Harvard Extension School
Harvard Extension School
Harvard University Extension School, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of the thirteen degree-granting schools of Harvard University and is part of the Division of Continuing Education.-Origins:...
, and the Longy School of Music
Longy School of Music
The Longy School of Music of Bard College is a conservatory located near Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1915, it was one of the four independent degree-granting music schools in the Boston region along with the New England Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, and Boston...
. He is also President of Rhythm, Rhyme, Results
Rhythm, Rhyme, Results
Rhythm, Rhyme, Results is a company based out of Cambridge, Massachusetts that produces educational music in the hip-hop genre. Subjects of study have included language arts, science, math and social studies...
, an educational music company specializing in curriculum-based educational rap and pop songs.