Popular Pieces
Grade 2 Band
"I can't get this melody out of my head and it's so fun to play!"
- Angelo Casto Valez, 5th Grade trumpet player
"This sounds like a movie!"
- Ava Bishop, 6th grade flute player
Grade 2 String Orchestra
"Haunted Tales is a fun piece to prepare for a fall concert. It has been a favorite for my chamber orchestra to prepare and to imagine their own haunted tales with the music. This piece is a real crowd pleaser in concerts and sure to be a favorite for any director and ensemble."
- Anna Sengstack, Orchestra Director Katherine Johnson Middle School
Grade 3 Band or String Orchestra (with optional percussion)
“The rhythmic variation, along with the meter and time changes, gave them appropriate challenges to work through as they learned the piece. The percussionists enjoyed complex parts that kept them fully engaged throughout.”
- Melissa Hall, Centreville High School, Clifton, VA
Grade 2 Band
“The melody is dark and rich. The students, almost immediately, get the style of how it should be played and the direction of the line. One of my students said: ‘I loved it, it was better than Cats (the musical)!’”
- Zach Gomez, Poe Middle School, Annandale, VA
"Space Train is a piece that will effectively teach young musicians syncopation, rhythmical independence, varying articulations, balance, blend, and intonation in a tuneful way that keeps my students pulling it out of their folders time and time again - long after the concert has passed."
- Casey Burnett, Newport Middle School, Bethesda, MD
About Me
Jacob Kohut is a Washington, DC based composer and educator. His works have been played around the country and he has spoken with several national figures on the importance of art education. Jake studied composition at Principia College with James Hagerty, receiving a bachelor’s degree (‘08). He later studied with Glenn Smith and Mark Camphouse at George Mason University, receiving a Masters (‘11) and Doctorate (‘16) in composition. Kohut has over 70 works written for concert band, orchestra, and chamber ensembles. Most works can be found on his website and heard on his YouTube channel. Several arrangements are also available for purchase through Claude T. Smith Publishing. Jacob Kohut is a 13-year member of the DC National Guard, holding the rank of sergeant in the 257th Army Band. SGT Kohut has performed for dignitaries at home and abroad including Michelle Obama, former National Security Advisor, H. R. McMaster, and former Chief of the National Guard Bureau, General Frank Grass. As a sergeant in the DC National Guard, Kohut gained national attention for teaching his band students virtually from the back of his humvee in the wake of the January 6th insurrection at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. He has spoken on the topic of the importance of arts education on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, CNN’s 360 with Andersen Cooper, and been featured on the Today Show. He has also been a clinician for on the topic of professional work/life balance at universities around the country such as the University of Miami, Texas A&M, and Georgia State University. Kohut has been a presenter and performer at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago and a presenter and performer at the Virginia Music Educators’ Association Conference. Jake has been teaching in Fairfax County Public Schools since 2010. He’s taught band for grades 5-8 and worked as a bassoon and saxophone instructor. His students regularly audition into select ensembles. Jake is a board member of the Fairfax Coalition for Arts Education, coordinator of the Band Buddies program through the Virginia Winds Academy, and a coach for the Great Beginnings program through Fairfax County Public Schools. Jake lives in Burke, VA with his wife, Meredith, and sons, Ian and Ethan. They currently don’t have any pets by choice.
Contact Me
Email Me
JacobKohut@gmail.com