Isaiah Jackson (conductor)

{{short description|American conductor (1945–2025)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = Isaiah Jackson | image = Isaiah Jackson conductor (1a).jpg | image_upright = | alt = Three-quarter profile colour still from a video, of a smiling, clean-shaven young man with afro hairstyle.and black roll-neck sweater | caption = Jackson in 1973 | birth_date = {{birth date|1945|01|22}} | birth_place = Richmond, Virginia, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2025|12|24|1945|01|22}} | death_place = Oakland, California, U.S. | education = {{ubl| Harvard University | Stanford University | Juilliard School }} | occupation = {{ubl| Conductor | Academic teacher }} | organization = {{ubl| Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra | Royal Ballet | Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra | | Berklee College of Music | Harvard Extension School | Longy School of Music }} | awards = }} '''Isaiah Allen Jackson III''' (January 22, 1945 – December 24, 2025) was an American conductor and academic teacher. He was music director of the Royal Ballet in London from 1987 to 1990. From 2001, he served for seven years as conductor of the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, as the first African-American to be appointed to a music directorship in the Boston area. He was a regular guest conductor for major orchestras in the United States, Europe, South Africa and Australia.

Jackson taught at Berklee College of Music, Harvard Extension School, and the Longy School of Music, among others. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Dayton for "orchestrating racial harmony and integrating music within the lives of the young".<ref name="Dayton University" />

== Life and career ==

=== Childhood and education ===

Jackson was born on January 22, 1945,<ref name="z380">{{cite book | last=Bracks | first=Lean'tin | title=African American Almanac | publisher=Visible Ink Press | date=February 1, 2012 | isbn=978-1-57859-380-4 | page=}}</ref> in a predominantly black neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia, the son of orthopedic surgeon Isaiah Jackson, Jr. and his wife Alma Alverta Jackson née Norris. Both of his grandfathers were physicians.<ref name=encyclo /> Arthur Ashe was one of his childhood friends.<ref name=ashe>{{cite book |last=Hall |first=Eric Allen |date=June 15, 2016|title= Arthur Ashe: Tennis and Justice in the Civil Rights Era|url= |location= |publisher= Johns Hopkins University Press|page= |isbn=978-1421419824 |access-date=}}</ref><ref name="UPI" />

When Jackson was two years old, he fell on a milk bottle and severed the tendons of his wrist.<ref name=encyclo>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Jackson, Isaiah|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/african-american-focus/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/jackson-isaiah|encyclopedia= Encyclopedia.com|location= |access-date=January 13, 2026}}</ref> His father prescribed music lessons for therapy, which he began at age 4, showing immediate dedication and aptitude. From age 14, he studied at The Putney School, a progressive, integrated and academically intense private boarding school near Brattleboro, Vermont, graduating in 1962.<ref>{{cite web |author= |date= |title=Legacy Circle - The Putney School|url=https://www.putneyschool.org/legacy-circle/|website= |location= |publisher=The Putney School|access-date=January 13, 2026}}</ref> During his time there, he traveled with his high school class to the Soviet Union. He also took part in a picket of the local Woolworth's store in support of the lunch counter sit-ins that were happening in the South, for equality and equal access for African-Americans.<ref name=ashe/>

Jackson studied Russian history and literature at Harvard University, from which he graduated ''cum laude'' in 1966.<ref name="Hollywood Bowl" /><ref name="Symphony" /> While there, he had the opportunity to conduct Mozart's opera ''Così fan tutte'', which helped him decide to pursue music as a career. Subsequently, he went to Stanford University and received his M.A. in music in 1969.<ref name="Symphony" /> He studied with Nadia Boulanger in Fontainebleau, France, before going to the Juilliard School in New York City, from which he graduated D.M.A. in 1973.<ref name="Hollywood Bowl" /><ref name="Symphony" /> He also studied at Aspen Music Festival and School and Tanglewood.<ref name="Hollywood Bowl" /><ref name="Berklee" /> At Harvard, he was a Fellow in the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute.<ref name="paco" />

=== Conducting ===

Jackson founded the Juilliard String Ensemble and was its first conductor during the 1970-71 season.<ref name="Hollywood Bowl" /><ref name="Wagstaff" /> While still a Juilliard student, he was engaged as an assistant to Leopold Stokowski for the American Symphony Orchestra and also became music director of the New York Youth Symphony.<ref name="Hollywood Bowl" /><ref name="Myrtle Hart" /><ref name="NYYS" />

Jackson was associate conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra from 1971.<ref name="Hollywood Bowl" /><ref name="Wagstaff" /> He conducted ballet at the Spoleto Festival in Italy in 1971. He was associate conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra from 1973 to 1987,<ref name="Hollywood Bowl" /><ref name="Wagstaff" /><ref name="UPI" /> and introduced there also classical music to preschool and elementary school children.<ref name="UPI" />

Jackson appeared as a guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1973.<ref name="Hollywood Bowl" /> The same year, he first conducted the Vienna Symphony; Leonard Bernstein suggested then that Jackson became artistic director of the Vienna Youth Music Festival.<ref name="Hollywood Bowl" /><ref name="Myrtle Hart" /> He conducted as a guest the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, the Gävle Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Symphony Orchestra (for the opening of the Prague Autumn), Stockholm Symphonic Wind Orchestra, the Prague Radio Symphony, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the RAI National Symphony Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.. He conducted the New York Philharmonic in 1978. He also performed with the Dance Theatre of Harlem at the Royal Opera House in London.<ref name="Wagstaff" />

In 1982, Jackson also became music director of the Flint Symphony Orchestra in Michigan.<ref name="Wagstaff" /> He performed as a guest with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in both 1983 and 1985, and with the Cleveland Orchestra in 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, and 1989 to 1992.<ref name="Wagstaff" /> He conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra in 1983,<ref name="Wagstaff" /> as the orchestra’s first black conductor, and the first black conductor to lead the annual "Gospel Night" program,<ref name="Titcomb" /> and again in 1990 and 1992. He conducted the San Francisco Symphony in 1984, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1984 and 1990, and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in 1985 and 1988.<ref name="Wagstaff" />

In 1987, Jackson became the first black music director of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra,<ref name="Symphony" /><ref name="Wagstaff" /> where he conducted Dayton's first performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 "of a Thousand".<ref name="Dayton" /> He served there until 1994.<ref name="Symphony" /><ref name="Dayton" /><ref name="Dayton University" />

Jackson became the principal conductor of the Royal Ballet in London in 1986, subsequently serving as its music director from 1987 to 1990, as the first black and the first American to occupy a chief position with the company.<ref name="Berklee" /><ref name="Myrtle Hart" /><ref name="Lebrecht" /> He moved with his family to London.<ref name="UPI" /> In 1987, he conducted a concert of the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, featuring Schubert's Symphony No. 8, Rachmaninov's ''Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini'', Copland's ''Dance Symphony'' in its Proms premiere, and Gershwin's ''An American in Paris'', with pianist Philip Martin and the BBC Concert Orchestra.<ref name="BBC" /> Jackson conducted as a guest the Berlin Symphony Orchestra from 1989 to 1991, and also the Houston Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Grant Park Festival Orchestra, and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.<ref name="Wagstaff" />

Jackson was a particular favorite in Australia, as principal guest conductor of the Queensland Orchestra in Brisbane for three years<ref name="Myrtle Hart" /> and of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra.<ref name="NPC" /> In a 1994 concert in Canberra, he conducted Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3 with Larry Sitsky as the soloist, Sitsky's ''Songs and Dances'' from ''The Golem'', and Beethoven's Symphony No. 5.<ref name="Magee" /> He returned to Canberra in 1996 to conduct Rossini's overture to ''Semiramide'', Beethoven's Piano concerto No. 3, with Kathryn Selby as the soloist, and Dvořák's Symphony No. 8.<ref name="Magee 1996" /> Jackson was music director of the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra.<ref name="NPC" /> He also conducted the Sydney Symphony, West Australian Symphony, Tasmanian Symphony, and the Adelaide Symphony.<ref name="Myrtle Hart" /> On November 5, 1997, he was a guest speaker of the National Press Club of Australia.<ref name="NPC" />

Jackson was musician in residence at the Memorial Church of Harvard University.<ref name="paco" /><ref name="Wagstaff" /> In 1991, he was awarded the Signet Society Medal for achievements in the arts from the Signet Society of Harvard University.<ref name="paco" /> In the 1999/2000 season, he was the first person of color to conduct the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra.<ref name="paco" /><ref name="Myrtle Hart" /> From 2001, he served for seven years as conductor of the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, as the first African-American to be appointed to a music directorship in the Boston area.<ref name="Titcomb" /><ref name="Harbus" /> He conducted them in 2004 in the world premiere of Joseph Schwantner's ''New Morning for the World'', setting a text by Martin Luther King Jr. for narrator and chamber orchestra.<ref name="Schott" />

=== Recordings ===

Jackson's recordings include three CDs with the Berlin Symphony, including a live recording of their 1991 New Year’s Eve concert, string music from film scores by Bernard Herrmann, Miklós Rózsa and Franz Waxman as well as dance music by William Grant Still. He recorded harp concertos by Alberto Ginastera and William Mathias with Ann Hobson Pilot and the English Chamber Orchestra.<ref name="Myrtle Hart" /> He recorded works by Nigel Butterley with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.<ref name="paco" /><ref name="Myrtle Hart" /> Jackson conducted the Louisville Orchestra and gospel choirs from the Louisville area under the direction of Alvin Parris III. The CD grew out of a project between Jackson and Parris which was presented in twelve U.S. cities; it also opened the Brisbane Biennial Festival of Music and was performed in the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.<ref name="Myrtle Hart" />

=== Teaching ===

Jackson was on the faculty at the Berklee College of Music for 15 years<ref name="Symphony" /> until 2022.<ref name="Berklee" /> He also taught at Harvard, the Longy School of Music, Juilliard, Stanford, the University of Michigan, and Youngstown State University. He was artist-in-residence at the University of Dayton, where he taught philosophy of music.<ref name="Dayton" /><ref name="Myrtle Hart" /> He received an honorary doctorate from the university for "orchestrating racial harmony and integrating music within the lives of the young".<ref name="Dayton University" /> He was visiting professor of conducting at the Hochschule der Künste.

Jackson was also president of Rhythm, Rhyme, Results, an educational music company specializing in curriculum-based educational rap and pop songs.<ref name="Berklee" />

=== Personal life ===

While conducting in Rochester, Jackson met his wife Helen Tuntland, president of Hochstein School of Music & Dance and a consultant in the field of music education.<ref name="Myrtle Hart" /><ref name="UPI" /> They had three children, Benjamin, Katharine and Caroline.<ref name="Myrtle Hart" /> He acknowledged he was an Anglophile,<ref name="UPI" /> and he conducted before members of Britain's royal family on several occasions.<ref name="Myrtle Hart" /><ref name="Berklee" /> He spoke five languages.<ref name="Lebrecht" />

Jackson suffered from sensorineural hearing loss. The inner ear damage cost him most of the hearing in his right ear in 1995 and began to affect his left ear in 2004. The hearing loss forced him to retire from conducting in 2006.<ref name="Lebrecht" />

Jackson died in Oakland, California, on December 24, 2025, aged 80.<ref name="Symphony" /><ref name="DDN" />

==References==

<ref name="Lebrecht">{{cite web | last = Lebrecht | first = Norman | date = January 11, 2026 | url = https://slippedisc.com/2026/01/covent-garden-music-director-dies-at-80/ | title = Covent Garden music director dies at 80 | access-date = January 13, 2026 }}</ref>

<ref name="Magee">{{cite web | last = Magee | first = Tony | date = November 1, 1994 | url = https://artmusictheatre.blogspot.com/1994/11/review-rachmaninov-piano-concerto-no3.html | title = Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No.3, Larry Sitsky piano, Isaiah Jackson conductor, Canberra Symphony Orchestra, at Llewellyn Hall, Oct 27 1994 | access-date = January 17, 2026 }}</ref>

<ref name="Magee 1996">{{cite web | last = Magee | first = Tony | date = November 7, 1996 | url = https://artmusictheatre.blogspot.com/1996/11/review-4th-subscription-series.html | title = 4th Subscription Series, Beethoven and DVORAK. Canberra Symphony Orchestra, Isaiah Jackson. At Llewellyn Hall, November 6 1996 | access-date = January 17, 2026 }}</ref>

<ref name="Titcomb">{{cite web | last = Titcomb | first = Caldwell | url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-79142511.html | title = Conductor Isaiah Jackson shines in debut performance | work = Bay State Banner | date = March 8, 2011 | access-date = | archive-date = October 22, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121022220638/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-79142511.html | url-status = dead }}</ref>

<ref name="Wagstaff">{{cite news | last = Wagstaff | first = Malinda | url = https://www.wxxiclassical.org/classical-musicians-of-african-descent/2020-02-05/isaiah-jackson-conductor | title = Isaiah Jackson, conductor | website = wxxiclassical.org | date = February 5, 2020 | access-date = January 16, 2026 }}</ref>

<ref name="BBC">{{cite web | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ewjd4f | title = Prom 10 | work = BBC | date = July 27, 1987 | access-date = January 16, 2026 }}</ref>

<ref name="Berklee">{{cite web | url = https://college.berklee.edu/people/isaiah-jackson | title = Isaiah Jackson / Professor Emeritus | work = Berklee College of Music | date = 2026 | access-date = January 16, 2026 }}</ref>

<ref name="Dayton">{{cite web | url = http://www.daytonphilharmonic.org/orchestramissionstatement | title = Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra | access-date = January 7, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120418025631/http://www.daytonphilharmonic.org/orchestramissionstatement | archive-date = April 18, 2012 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

<ref name="Dayton University">{{cite web | url = https://ecommons.udayton.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=9425&context=news_rls | title = Conductor Isaiah Jackson to Receive Honorary Degree at UD | work = University of Dayton | date = August 8, 1999 | access-date = January 16, 2025 }}</ref>

<ref name="DDN">{{cite news | url = https://www.daytondailynews.com/local/remembering-isaiah-jackson-the-first-black-music-director-of-the-dayton-philharmonic-orchestra/WKM3XIPS4RB6XNOWP56L2MYQFY/ | title = Remembering Isaiah Jackson, the first Black music director of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra | newspaper = Dayton Daily News | date = January 8, 2026 | access-date = January 11, 2025 }}</ref>

<ref name="Harbus">{{cite web | url = http://www.harbus.org/2001/Classical-Culture-Meet-Isaiah-46/ | title = Classical Culture: Meet Isaiah Jackson | work = The Harbus | date = February 5, 2001 | access-date = September 15, 2011 | archive-date = October 6, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181006180050/http://www.harbus.org/2001/classical-culture-meet-isaiah-46/ | url-status = dead }}</ref>

<ref name="Hollywood Bowl">{{cite web | url = https://www.procolharum.com/hollyprog(14).htm | title = The Concert Programme : Isaiah Jackson, conductor | website = procolharum.com | date = September 23, 1973 | access-date = January 15, 2026 }}</ref>

<ref name="Myrtle Hart">{{cite web | url = http://myrtlehart.org/content/view/98/87/ | title = Isaiah Jackson | work = Myrtle Hart Society | date = March 13, 2007 | access-date = | archive-date = July 8, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070708070942/http://myrtlehart.org/content/view/98/87/ }}</ref>

<ref name="NPC">{{cite web | url = http://www.npc.org.au/assets/files/documents/speakers/historical/NPCA%20Speakers%20-%201990s.pdf | title = National Press Club of Australia Speakers 1990s | work = National Press Club of Australia | date = | archive-date = March 16, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150316005651/http://www.npc.org.au/assets/files/documents/speakers/historical/NPCA%20Speakers%20-%201990s.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref>

<ref name="NYYS">{{cite web | url = https://www.nyys.org/seasons/1971-1972/ | title = 1971-1972 / Isaiah Jackson, Conductor | work = New York Youth Symphony | date = 2026 | access-date = January 17, 2026 }}</ref>

<ref name="paco">{{cite web | url = http://www.proarte.org/isaiah.html | title = PACO people | work = Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra | date = | archive-date = April 13, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100413230849/http://www.proarte.org/isaiah.html | url-status = dead }}</ref>

<ref name="Schott">{{cite web | url = https://www.schott-music.com/en/new-morning-for-the-world-no231340.html | title = New Morning for the World | work = Schott Music | date = 2026 | access-date = January 17, 2026 }}</ref>

<ref name="Symphony">{{cite web | url = https://symphony.org/obituary-isaiah-allen-jackson-iii-former-music-director-at-dayton-philharmonic-with-an-international-career-80/ | title = Isaiah Allen Jackson III, Former Music Director at Dayton Philharmonic with an International Career, 80 | work = Symphony | date = January 13, 2025 | access-date = January 15, 2026 }}</ref>

<ref name="UPI">{{cite web | url = https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/04/18/Child-loving-maestro-moves-abroardNEWLNIsaiah-Jackson-spends-his-life-in-the-company-of-genius/1167545716800/ | title = Child-loving maestro moves abroard;NEWLN:Isaiah Jackson spends his life 'in the company of genius' | work = UPI | date = April 18, 1987 | access-date = January 16, 2026 }}</ref>

</references>

==External links==

* {{discogs artist}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20130620012221/http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k30027 Harvard Extension School course / The Future of Music] Harvard University * Mitchell, Krista: [https://www.clevelandorchestra.com/posts/honoring-the-legacy-of-dr-martin-luther-king-jr- Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.] Cleveland Orchestra, December 16, 2022 * Fischer, Marilyn; Jackson, Isaiah: [https://iml.esm.rochester.edu/polyphonic-archive/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2012/02/Toward_Vision_Fisch_Jacks.pdf Toward a Vision of Mutual Responsiveness: Remythologizing the Symphony Orchestra] ''Harmony'', April 1997 * [http://www.educationalrap.com/about/team Isaiah Jackson] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100409061621/http://www.educationalrap.com/about/team |date=April 9, 2010 }} ''Rhythm, Rhyme, Results''

Category:1945 births Category:2025 deaths Category:20th-century African-American people Category:21st-century American conductors (music) Category:21st-century American male musicians Category:21st-century African-American musicians Category:American male conductors (music) Category:African-American conductors (music) Category:African-American classical musicians Category:Berklee College of Music faculty Category:Classical musicians from Virginia Category:Harvard University staff Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Musicians from Richmond, Virginia Category:Harvard Extension School faculty