About
Lauded for his “expressive and intense” playing (American Record Guide) which “packs an emotional punch,” (Strad), violist Jacob Adams is Associate Professor of Viola at the University of Alabama. Since making his solo debut with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra at age 17, he has taught and performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player at major venues throughout the United States and across four continents. His recordings have been released by Centaur, Blue Griffin, and the American Viola Society. He has premiered new works by celebrated composers, including Caroline Shaw and William Bolcom. Jacob is a regular performer with numerous orchestras, chamber ensembles, and festival series, appearing with A Far Cry (Boston), Camerata Pacifica (Southern CA), Manchester Summer Chamber Music (MA), Rocket City New Music (Huntsville, AL), Brevard Music Center (NC), and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra (Birmingham, AL). He serves as principal violist for the Mobile and Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestras.
A dedicated teacher, Jacob maintains a full studio of undergraduate and graduate violists at the University of Alabama. He regularly presents and performs at national and international conferences, gives masterclasses and pedagogical workshops throughout the country, and has had articles published in the Journal for the American Viola Society and Strad magazine. He serves on the faculty of the Tennessee Valley Music Festival and has taught at the Brevard Music Center. He currently serves as president of Chamber Music Tuscaloosa, and has served as an American Viola Society board member.
Jacob has appeared on stage with such diverse acts as A Far Cry, Yo-Yo Ma, Suzanne Vega, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, and The Temptations, among others. Additional chamber music highlights include performances with Camerata Pacifica, the Muir String Quartet, Manchester Summer Chamber Music, Rocket City New Music, and the St. Petersburg String Quartet. Jacob was the violist of the critically acclaimed Vinca String Quartet, which won special mention at the 2008 Borciani International Quartet Competition. Prior to that he was the founding violist of the Erato Quartet, which won top prize at the 2001 Coleman Chamber Music Competition.
Jacob is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory, Yale School of Music, and University of California – Santa Barbara. His teachers include Helen Callus, Jesse Levine, Roger Chase, Roland Vamos, Masao Kawasaki, and Catharine Carroll Lees. In addition to his performance degrees, Jacob earned an M.A. in Musicology from the University of California – Santa Barbara.
In his spare time, Jacob is likely to be found hiking, cooking, bowling (high score: 289), or obsessing over Cincinnati sports teams. He lives with his wife, Shannon McCue, and their three children, Isaac, Jesse, and Maya, in Tuscaloosa.