LATROBE, PA – Grammy Award-winning concert organist Paul Jacobs returns to Saint Vincent Archabbey Basilica on Sunday, Dec. 6, at 2 p.m. for a Saint Vincent College Concert Series performance.
Jacobs previously performed in the Basilica on April 30, 2025, as part of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s “Music for the Spirit” event.
Originally from Washington, Pennsylvania, he is the first organist to receive a Grammy, winning in 2011 for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra) for his recording of “Livre Du Saint-Sacrement,” a musical piece by the late Olivier Messiaen, a French composer and organist.
Jacobs earned dual degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia for organ and harpsichord and later earned a master’s degree for organ from the Yale School of Music. Jacobs serves as chair of the Julliard School’s organ department.
General admission is $10 at the door. Payment by cash or credit/debit card will be accepted. Monastic community members are welcomed free of charge; entry for all faculty, staff and students is free with a valid SVC ID card.
The performance is presented by the Saint Vincent College Concert Series and Saint Vincent Archabbey and is in memory of the late Fr. Cyprian Constantine, O.S.B., a monk of Saint Vincent Archabbey for 48 years, who passed away in 2023. Fr. Cyprian began the study of piano and violin at an early age and was known for his organ skills nationally. He served in various positions with Saint Vincent College and Seminary, including chair of the College’s Music and Fine Arts departments.
He was also concertmaster, first violinist and principal keyboardist in the Archabbey Baroque Ensemble, and for a six-year period directed the Saint Vincent Camerata. Fr. Cyprian appeared many times as organ recitalist in the Saint Vincent College Concert Series and in other series around the country, including those in Pittsburgh; Harrisburg; Washington, DC; Kentucky; Baltimore and his native state, Colorado.
In summer 2000, Fr. Cyprian traveled to Rome to perform in a concert series in the Basilica at Sant’Anselmo. He also served as a consultant on the construction of the new Saint Vincent Archabbey Basilica organ, which was dedicated in November 2014. He gave one of the inaugural concerts on the organ the following spring.
The Saint Vincent College Concert Series is dedicated to enriching the local community by presenting outstanding musical performances and fostering connections between music and academic excellence.
The concert is being funded by a private donor through Rt. Rev. Martin de Porres Bartel, O.S.B., S’85, archabbot of Saint Vincent Archabbey and chancellor of Saint Vincent College and Seminary.
