Georgia Music Educators Association
2026 All-State Reading Chorus January 31, 2025 The Classic Center | First Baptist Church | Athens, Georgia Dr. Jacob Augsten, Conductor Dr. Jana Williams, Accompanist
Velma Page Jenkins, Choral Chair Nathan Schreer, Organizer
Georgia native Dr. Jacob Augsten is Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music in the School of the Arts at Reinhardt University, where he conducts the Reinhardt choirs and teaches courses in Conducting, Aural Skills, and Choral Methods. Augsten’s recent research has centered on the music of Polish Baroque composer Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki and treble-voice repertoire by Sergei Rachmaninoff. He is equally committed to the promotion of new music and the amplification of underrepresented voices in the field, having recently premiered multiple works by composers Tristino Ali and Kahan Taraporevala. Augsten is an active guest conductor, adjudicator, and clinician throughout the southeastern United States. Outside of this region, he has been Guest Conductor of the Denton Bach Society and has served as Assistant Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Chorus. Augsten holds graduate degrees in Choral Conducting from the University of North Texas and Georgia State University, and an undergraduate degree in Music Education from Clayton State University. He has been taught and mentored by Drs. Deanna Joseph, Allen Hightower, Jessica Nápoles, Marques Garrett, and Kristina MacMullen.