Deep within the practice wing of the Earl V. Moore Building, bored student musicians often take to writing on the walls of practice rooms. The scribbles range from funny cartoons to brain rot humor to entertaining polls. The first time I came across Jacob Collier, I was on the brink of insanity trying to learn orchestral excerpts, and I decided to gaze upon these walls — a favorite pastime of mine.
One of the many sprawls asked about favorite musicians and pieces, and another writer responded to their question with a name: Jacob Collier. I asked around, and everyone seemed to know who he was. I was clearly out of the loop. As I explored his background and discography, I found that the English singer-songwriter, arranger and producer transcends the classical and jazz realm, engaging with mainstream pop and indie music in a special way. His 50-track album series Djesse features four volumes and testifies to his diverse musicality.
“The Djesse series has incorporated so many people from every continent of the world, with over 100 different collaborators from all walks of life — whether it be orchestras, choirs, rock stars and pop stars,” Collier said in an interview with Billboard Philippines. “It’s all these different kinds of people, and I’ve learned so much from witnessing other people do their work.”
The seven-time Grammy award-winning artist is described by The New York Times as a “staggering musical prodigy,” seen through his viral conducting videos and collaborations with Coldplay and Shawn Mendes. Indeed, Collier has touched many areas of the music industry.
On Oct. 20, Collier participated in the Penny Stamps Speaker Series and gave a lecture at the Michigan Theater. Coincidentally, his mother — renowned conductor, violinist and educator Suzie Collier — taught a master class on curiosity, success and performance in the Britton Recital Hall the day before. This mini-residency culminated in a performance at Hill Auditorium on Oct. 21, where Collier collaborated with his mother, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and virtuosic mandolinist and singer-songwriter Chris Thile.
Witnessing the first half of the concert firsthand, I could see the exuberance and energy Collier brought to the stage through his body language and facial expressions. Not only was his stage presence colossal, but his technique and understanding of music were astonishing as well. The positivity emanating from Collier almost seemed like it should have been faked or forced, but a real genuineness shone through. Thile was breathtakingly talented, battling the beast that was mastering a Bach violin concerto on the mandolin and coming out on top. The orchestra followed every cue, the singers blended seamlessly with the music and the audience participation was marvelous. Everything on stage fell perfectly into place.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Sarah Calderini, Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra executive director, detailed how this was Collier’s first time in Ann Arbor — a fact Collier brought up himself during the performance, to which he received tons of applause. Calderini also characterized the current state of musical genre-mixing, which she believes Collier is an important player in.
“(Everyone is) obsessed with this idea of crossover; Jacob is probably the most iconic crossover artist,” Calderini said.
His wisdom, insatiable curiosity and unwillingness to follow the conventional rules of music really resonate with people. When prompted to reflect on how the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra adjusted to playing with Collier, Calderini praised the collaborative process.
“This is a really exciting space to play in. Our musicians are professionals, and they place themselves in a lot of different genres. I think their thinking is that, as long as it’s good music, they will play anything.”
Music, Theatre & Dance senior Vanessa Dominguez performed as one of the back-up singers for the event after staff reached out to professor Chelsea Packard, assistant professor of music, searching for singers. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Dominguez spoke about working with Collier.
“The experience was such a blast, and we were treated like such professionals,” Dominguez said. “Witnessing that trust and connection between (Collier) and the audience was a beautiful thing.”
Besides his undeniable talent, describing what makes Jacob Collier so captivating for audiences is difficult. Could it be his eclectic wardrobe? Or perhaps his British charm? Whatever it may be, the masses are vying for raw talent to be used in untraditional ways. The stuffy suit-wearing classical musician has become stale, and even the cookie-cutter mold of the modern pop-star is growing weary. We’re tired of putting performers in boxes and expecting them to keep reinventing the wheel. The wheel’s already rolling — it’s time to catch up.
Style Beat Editor Tara Wasik can be reached at tarawas@umich.edu.
