Dallas Symphony Chorus
Assistant to the Director of Choral Studies
Chorale Teaching Fellow
Jacob Augsten, a native of Griffin, Georgia, is a conductor, teacher, and singer dedicated to building community through collaborative choral artistry. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting at the University of North Texas, where he studies under Dr. Allen Hightower, Dr. Kristina MacMullen, and Dr. Jessica Nápoles. In addition to his studies at UNT, Augsten is currently the conducting associate for UNT’s Concert Choir and Kalandra, was previously the instructor of Music Fundamentals, and is the former conducting associate of Vox Aquilae, UNT’s flagship early music ensemble. Augsten also serves as Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church of Denton.
Prior to graduate work, Augsten taught public school for three years in the Metro Atlanta area. He has conducted choirs at every age level. His elementary choirs have performed throughout the Metro Atlanta area and have earned top awards in music at the Junior Theatre Festival. At the middle school level, Augsten’s choirs consistently received superior ratings in performance and sight-reading and were praised for their “warm tone and inspiring musicality.”
Augsten was the assistant conductor of the Perimeter College Chorale in 2019 and 2020, and he has conducted performances with the Georgia State University Symphony Orchestra, Orpheus Men’s Ensemble, the choir and orchestra at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, and the Atlanta Chamber Choir. Augsten has also presented multiple conference sessions, including presentations at Southwestern ACDA, Georgia Music Educator’s Association, and Georgia ACDA. While pursuing a Master of Music degree, Augsten was the music director of the Atlanta Homeward Choir, an organization of multiple choirs which engages individuals experiencing homelessness and/or poverty in the downtown and greater Atlanta area.
Having enjoyed a variety of enriching singing opportunities, Augsten always approaches conducting from the perspective of a lifelong singer. He currently sings with Dallas-based ensembles Orpheus Chamber Singers, Incarnatus, and Highland Park Chorale, and he has been a chorus member with the Atlanta Master Chorale, Orpheus Men’s Ensemble, and the Atlanta Opera Chorus. Augsten is an active solo artist in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and has also performed multiple roles with the Atlanta Opera, most recently appearing in the company’s 2019 production of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking.
Augsten holds the Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from Georgia State University, where he studied conducting under Dr. Deanna Joseph, and the Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Clayton State University, where he was the winner of the Cheryl Boyd-Waddel Award, the Robert O. Allen Music Prize, and the Alma Lily Farfan-Northway Music Scholarship.