Jacobsen Series 2026–27 performances feature Puget Sound music faculty, renowned guest artists, and inspiring themed concerts. This year’s season kicks off with Maria Sampen, violin, joined by guests James Doyle, percussion, and Timothy Christie, viola. The program, Global Resonance, will feature music from around the world for violin and percussion.

MARIA SAMPEN is Professor of Violin and Chair of the String Department at the University of Puget Sound, and violinist in the Puget Sound Piano Trio. She enjoys a vibrant musical career as a soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, and teacher. 

Equally at home with repertoire ranging from classical to avant-garde to popular styles, Sampen delights audiences with her eclectic programs, passionate performance style, and highly expressive playing. She has commissioned and premiered recent concertos for violin and orchestra by composers David Glenn, Marilyn Shrude and Robert Hutchinson. Additionally, she has commissioned and premiered over 20 chamber works, including music by Marcos Balter, Andrew Mead, Robert Morris, Nico Muhly and Forrest Pierce. Maria Sampen bio

JAMES W. DOYLE is a percussionist and teaching artist based in the Pacific Northwest. As a soloist and collaborator, he’s performed throughout North America, Europe, Australia, Africa, and Asia, with recent appearances on the Seattle Symphony’s octave9 Series, the Nakanojo Biennale, and residencies at Gunma University in Maebashi, Japan. 

Before relocating to Washington, Doyle served as professor of music at Adams State University and earned a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Prior to his tenure in academia, he was principal percussionist with the United States Air Force Band of the Golden West. 

Doyle is on the musicology faculty at the University of Puget Sound and is the director of TYSAmba, a community samba bateria. He tours internationally with the U.S./Japan-based ensemble, Apricity Trio, and regularly performs with orchestras, opera companies, and chamber ensembles throughout the region. www.jameswdoyle.com

Violinist and violist TIMOTHY CHRISTIE enjoys a multifaceted career as performer, teacher, public speaker and recording artist. He is the founder and artistic director of the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival (WWCMF), a nonprofit organization in southeastern Washington presenting more than 40 public chamber music events annually. He serves on the faculty of the School of Music at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash., and is a member of IRIS Orchestra in Memphis, Tenn. 

Christie earned dual undergraduate degrees in music and English literature at the University of Michigan, and a Master of Music degree, also from U of M. His principal teachers include Andrew Jennings and Paul Kantor (violin), and Yizhak Schotten (viola). Christie occasionally dips a toe in the for-profit wing of the music business, having recorded countless film, television video game scores over the years. He has also performed with such disparate luminaries as Queensrÿche, The Who, The Eagles, Andrea Bocelli and Belle and Sebastian. Timothy Christie bio

About the Jacobsen Series

The Jacobsen Series was established in 1984 in honor of Leonard Jacobsen, former chair and professor of Puget Sound’s piano department. Ticket sales support the Jacobsen Series Scholarship Fund, annual music scholarships awarded to outstanding student performers and scholars. Thank you to our many patrons whose support has benefitted students and contributed to this successful series.

The Keyboard Series, now in its fourth year, features a dynamic lineup of charismatic guest artists.

Learn More

Visit pugetsound.edu/jacobsen or call the School of Music at 253.879.3741.

Tickets

Tickets are available online at tickets.pugetsound.edu, at the Logger Store located in the Wheelock Student Center, or at the door.

• $25 general admission
• $20 sr. citizen, student, military, Puget Sound faculty/staff, Community Music participants
• Admission is free for current Puget Sound and K-12 students. Please present your student ID to the ushers at the door.