Album Notes

Jacob Reuven was born In Israel. He began playing the mandolin at age of eight, studying at the Beer Sheva Conservatory under the guidance of Prof. Simha Nathanson. In 1994 he graduated under the guidance of Mr. Lev Haimovitch and was awarded the Excellent Musician Status by the Israeli army, which allowed him to pursue acadmic studies at the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance in Jerusalem while doing his military service.

During his time as a student at the Rubin Academy and under the guidance of Prof. Motti Smidt, Jacob won the prestigious concerto competition for two years in a row, which lead to several performances under the baton of the conductor Mendi Rodan. In 1998 he graduated the Rubin Academy, receiving a M.Ba.Mus.

Jacob has performed with some of the best Israeli orchestras and ensembles, including, amongst others, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Israeli Sinfonietta ,the Israel Chamber Orchestra and the Twenty First Century Ensemble under the batons of conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Mstislav Rostropovitch, Antonio Pappano, Mendi Rodan and Zsolt Nagy.

His wide repertoire includes, as well as pieces written originally for Mandolin, pieces of the violin repertoire, most notably the Bach Partitas, Paganini Caprices and Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso by Saint-Saens which he was invited to play with the Israeli Simfonietta. This was the first time a mandolin player was invited to play a violin composition with an Israeli Orchestra, and the success of that performance led to more invitations to play violin repertoire on the mandolin with various other orchestras and ensembles and set new standards to mandolin playing, both domestic and world-wide. Jacob is also an enthusiastic chamber musician and has collaborated with the Jerusalem Quartet and the Vivace Ensemble, amongst others, as well as being a member of the award winning Kerman Mandolin Quartet, with which he had also been touring Europe.

Apart from being an active classical musician, Jacob is also a member of the world music ensemble "Mactub", combining Classical, Arabic and Middle-Eastern music.