Staff
-

Jacob Schnitzer, Artistic Director
American conductor Jacob Aaron Schnitzer harnesses the powers of music and storytelling to connect with others. Recipient of The Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, he has served as Artistic Director of Density512 and Associate Conductor Assistant Conductor of The Missouri Symphony, and was selected to be in residence at the Richard Wagner Bayreuth Festival Conducting Masterclass. A passionate educator, Jacob serves on the conducting faculty of Austin Peay State University. When not dreaming of ways to change the world, Jacob hikes, cooks, meditates, reads, and sings to his orange tabby cats.
-

Jordan Walsh, Collective Personnel Manager
I'm a percussionist/audio engineer/noisemaker based in Austin, Texas. My work is primarily in performative perspectives in electronic music, and as a performer I make a point to perform the most absurd nonsense I can. Outside of Density I teach percussion and audio technology at Southwestern University and Austin Community College, and perform with a smattering of musicians including Less Than <10, James Tabata, Ciyadh Wells, and Up/Down Percussion. When I'm not making noise you can find me drinking pretentious beer, playing frankly embarrassing amounts of Stardew Valley, or petting my Australian Shepard Libby.
-

Sophie Mathieu, Communications
Sophie Mathieu is a composer and cellist based in Austin, TX. She specializes in creating ambient, ethereal, and immersive works about vast, expansive places in the natural world. Her music has won her numerous awards, including her orchestral work, moons, which received an ASCAP Morton Gould award. Sophie has collaborated with ensembles across the US, including Alarm Will Sound, yMusic, and Eighth Blackbird. She is the 2024 Draylen Mason Composer in Residence at KMFA Classical 89.5. As a performer, Sophie eagerly engages with any type of music making that is hands-on and fun. She currently plays with Austin-based folk band Middle Sattre and the indie-rock band Maru Haru. Outside of music, she enjoys cooking plant-based food, playing Sid Meier's Civilization, and watching psychological horror films in her free time.
-

Caroline Ferguson, Production and Development Fellow
Caroline Ferguson is an oboist at the University of Texas at Austin pursuing degrees in Music and English. Passionate about art in all its forms, she aspires to support creatives through a combination of law and arts administration upon graduation. In addition to her work with Density 512, Caroline is also involved with the UT Lab Orchestra and the Center City Chamber Orchestra in Philadelphia. Caroline enjoys running, reading, and attempting new recipes (with varying results) when she finds a spare moment.