Performer, Improvisor, and Educator, Jacob Means experiments with new sounds while still maintaining a deep and active connection to traditional Appalachian folk music. A versatile musician, Jacob has traveled around the world performing in a variety of settings, from an a cappela vocal ensemble in Shanghai, China, to a bluegrass band at the International Folk Festival in Nitra, Slovakia, to a Free Improvisation ensemble at Jordan Hall in Boston, Massachusetts. Jacob was born in Kentucky and grew up in Wyoming surrounded by folk music’s rich aural traditions. He started playing mandolin at the age of eight and a few years later began performing in a Bluegrass band with his father and sister. He joined the choir in fifth grade and continued singing all through his academic studies. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts in Music with an emphasis in Vocal Performance at the University of Wyoming, Jacob continued to pursue his passion, the mandolin, and received his Master of Music in Contemporary Improvisation at the New England Conservatory in Boston, where he was a student of Joe Morris, Anthony Coleman, Dominique Eade, and Hankus Netsky. After teaching for a few years, Jacob continued his academic studies at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, where he received his second masters degree and studied with Danilo Perez, Terri Lyne Carrington, Joe Lovano, George Garzone, and John Patitucci. Jacob was involved in performance, teaching, and community engagement throughout the his studies, and received an Entrepreneurial Musicianship grant from NEC for Project YAFE; creating positive social change through music education, in partnership with the Danilo Perez Foundation. 

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