Renowned worldwide for his musical integrity and effortless brilliance, Israeli mandolinist Jacob Reuven is one of the most sought-after virtuosos of his instrument. His broad musical horizons encompass everything from the Baroque to contemporary music, and he brings an exuberance matched with uncompromising musical standards to all he does. Having studied with Simha Nathanson and Lev Haimovich at the Be’er Sheva Music Conservatory, and later with Motti Smidt at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, Jacob mastered a great deal of repertoire for solo violin, becoming the first-ever mandolinist to perform violin repertoire on a mandolin with an Israeli orchestra.

His precision and technical mastery, paired with his transcendental performances, have brought Jacob a global following and recognition. He has performed as a soloist at prestigious international festivals, including the Dresdner Musikfestspiele, Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci and Festival International Mandolines de Lunel, and he has played under conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Mstislav Rostropovich and Sir Antonio Pappano. At home, Jacob has performed as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and Israeli Sinfonietta, among others; internationally, he has given solo performances with orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony, George Enescu Philharmonic, Orchestra dell’Arena di Verona and the Orchestra del Teatro Massimo (Palermo).

A highly regarded pedagogue, Jacob teaches mandolin at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. He plays on a custom-made mandolin by Israeli luthier Arik & Yam Kerman, and is a founder of the award-winning Kerman Mandolin Quartet, the Israeli Mandolin Soloists, Duo Mantar and the 16 Strings duo.

Jacob writes: ‘My work is dedicated to developing the mandolin—challenging its perceived limits as a solo instrument and expanding its repertoire, as well as nurturing the next generation of mandolin virtuosos. I do this by taking original violin music by, say, Bach, Ysaÿe and Paganini, and arranging it for performance on the mandolin. We have 300 years of unbelievable music literature at our disposal and are lucky that mandolin and violin are tuned in the same way. This approach has allowed me to hone my own skills and develop those of my students.’