Bio

Jacob Mashak is a composer, conductor, and multi-instrumentalist whose work asks what becomes possible when human intention steps aside. Rooted in a philosophy of indeterminacy, their compositions seek the splendor discoverable only in the natural world — the beauty that emerges not from design, but from process.

Their catalog spans more than fifty works for orchestra, chamber ensemble, voice, and stage. Among the most recognized is Beatus Vir for two pianos — an eleven-hour, non-repetitive composition premiered at Boston University in 2008, recognized as the longest non-repetitive piano piece on record. Their opera The Last Tea of Rikyu, for four voices and string quartet, explores the final hours of Sen no Rikyū, the 16th-century Japanese tea master whose influence on the art of tea ceremony remains unparalleled. Vita Nuova for one-mallet marimba was recorded and released on Jane Boxall's album Marimba from Zero to Eight Mallets and premiered with the Vermont Contemporary Music Ensemble in Montpelier in 2013. Orchestral works include Night Blossoms, Sinfonia Concertante, Agnus Dei for soprano and orchestra, and Dancing Lessons for string orchestra, available through Sheet Music Plus.

Currently based in Wichita, Kansas, Mashak maintains an active practice as a music engraver and arranger. They have served as Artistic Director of the Boston-based new music ensemble zradci, Principal Librarian of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and as Principal Trombone and Assistant Conductor of the Windham Orchestra.

Mashak studied at the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam and Boston University, where their teachers included Martin Amlin and Steven Weigt in composition and Charles Peltz in conducting. Their principal instruments include trombone, recorder, and toy piano.