Masterclasses
"Jakob is a poet of the piano in all styles. What distinguishes his teaching is ability to enthuse students of every level, assisting them in making rapid progress through a detailed engagement."
Professor John Thwaites, Head of the Department on Keyboard Studies, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
Jakob has given numerous masterclasses at various institutions in the UK and abroad. These include the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (multiple classes between 2014 and 2022), Tianjin, Wuhan, Jilin and Xinhai conservatoires, China (classes took place between 2015 and 2018), University of Morelia, Mexico in 2016 and, most recently, the 2023 Piano Festival Paisajes Sonoros in Valparaiso, Chile.
During the COVID restrictions Jakob gave a number of online master classes and presentations, including for University of Huddersfield, Hubei Normal University and Chicago High School for the Arts.
Teaching in Higher Education
Jakob holds the position of Principal Lecturer at Leeds Conservatoire, where he was appointed in 2011, and teaches piano at the Universities of York, Leeds and Hull. His responsibilities include one-to-one piano teaching as well as coaching chamber music groups. Furthermore, Jakob teaches Performance in Context and has led specialist projects for performers and composers.
On numerous occasions he represented Leeds Conservatoire and University of York in mainland China and Hong Kong where he played public recitals and provided master classes for prospective students. Jakob has also acted as an ambassador for Leeds Conservatoire within the UK and as such has given yearly master classes at Cambridge School for Visual and Performing Arts.
Four of Jakob’s students won the Leeds Conservatoire annual piano competition and another seven students have successfully auditioned for concerto trials in both Leeds Conservatoire and University of York resulting in performances of piano concertos by Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff and Rautavaara. Some of his former students are themselves now successful pedagogues and professional performers.
Jakob has also provided modular teaching for undergraduate students at University of York, consisting of an 8-session module on Piano Literature for two years running and discussing aspects of performance history, canon formation and repertoire choices.
Examining
In 2010 Jakob joined the examiner panel for ABRSM. In this role he attended numerous tours in the UK and Hong Kong. Jakob also worked as a consultant for ABRSM’s operation in Germany in the years 2013 and 2014.
Jakob regularly sits on assessment panels at Leeds Conservatoire and University of York and has worked as an external examiner at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire since 2018.