Composer Mark Eliot Jacobs, born in 1960, lives in southern Oregonís Rogue River Valley. He is a frequent participant in the musical life of the valley: principal trombonist in the Rogue Valley Symphony, and musician with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, among other engagements. He is an adjunct instructor at Southern Oregon University where he has taught in the areas of music theory, composition, and low brass. Mark holds the degree Doctor of Music from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois in Music Composition (1986).

Mark has written a wide range of music, including orchestra, band, musical theater, and chamber music. The 2011 production of Bertolt Brechtís Caucasian Chalk Circle at Southern Oregon University, Ashland, Oregon featured Markís original musical score. The Medford Mail Tribune declared it an ìamazing collection of original compositions.” In 2012 he completed The Orchard City under a commission from the Youth Symphony of Southern Oregon for their 25th anniversary. It is scheduled for performance in March 2013.

Las Ranas de Katanchel (2010) is dedicated to MÛnica Hern·ndez and AnÌbal Gonz·lez of the Hacienda Katanchel, located near MÈrida in the Mexican state of Yucat·n. It is a tone poem built upon two basic themes: the ecology of the hacienda and Mayan mythology from both the Yucatec and QuichÈ Maya. The ancient book of the QuichÈ, the Popol Vuh, figures prominently. Recordings of the frogs (ìlas ranasî), birds, and insects of the Yucatan play a prominent role in both the natural and mythological aspects of the piece.

Albums

Playing on the Edge 3

Release Date: July 14, 2023
Catalog Number: NV6520
21st Century
Chamber
String Quartet
The Sirius Quartet returns with the long-anticipated PLAYING ON THE EDGE 3, adding to their ever-thrilling catalog with a fresh batch of imaginative compositions hailing from today’s composers. This installment of the acclaimed series dives into the concept of beauty, expressing itself in an extraordinary duality, with each work contributing its own unique take on the whole. PLAYING ON THE EDGE 3 offers up a vibrant and challenging selection, a verbose continuation of theme. From beginning to end, the Sirius Quartet proves that they’re not just playing on the edge — they’re living on it too.

Spellbound

Release Date: May 1, 2013
Catalog Number: NV5911
21st Century
Orchestral
Large Ensemble
Orchestra
From mythic origin stories, to the Elizabethan stage, to the modern cinema, the human experience is bound in storytelling that has the power to captivate minds and inspire creativity. Like a good story, the composers featured on SPELLBOUND transport the listener across landscapes only limited by the imagination. These new works for orchestra behave as narrative arches, allowing tension and emotion to build and release to a euphoric conclusion or a haunting realization.