Born in Orinda, California Heidi Jacob has studied at both the Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School. Her conducting teachers have included Harold Farberman, Daniel Lewis and Robert Page. Appointed Music Director of The Haverford-Bryn Mawr College Orchestra in 1996 she was also Music Director of The Chamber Orchestra of Bryn Mawr and was Music Director of The De Paul Chamber Orchestra from 1994 to 1998. In addition to serving as music director of several university orchestras, Ms. Jacob has also been guest conductor of the Lansdowne Symphony, has conducted for the Del Sarte Dancers, Oswego, New York, and for concerto winners of the 1981 Music Teachers National Association Piano Competition. She was selected in 1993 as a conductor in performance as part of the American Conductors Composers Seminar at Hartt College of Music.

As a cellist, Ms. Jacob has distinguished herself both a soloist and in chamber music. At the age of 17 she won critical acclaim for her performances of Bloch's "Schelomo" , with performances in California and Germany, where it was broadcast over German television. A guest artist at the 1981 Chopin festival in Miami, Florida, she has also appeared as soloist at the San Francisco Bach Festival, the Temple University Summer Festival, and on WQXR in New York City. In 1986, she toured Spain, performing cello-piano duos with her husband, pianist Charles Abramovic. As a member of the Janus Trio, Ms. Jacob has performed throughout the United States including the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C., Bedford Springs Festival, "Mozart on the Square" in Philadelphia, and on National Public Radio. The group has toured both Spain and the former Yugoslavia, where they performed at the Dubrovnik festival.

In a recent recording for Capstone Records she conducts the Ensemble Solarium in Curt Cacioppo’s Concerto for Oboe and String Chamber Orchestra with Harpsichord, featuring Philadelphia Orchestra Oboist Jonathan Blumenfeld. As a cellist she has recorded for CRS records, performing trios by Ernest Pelligrini and Michael Zak with former Philadelphia Orchestra harpist Marilyn Costello. Her Cd of the Cello and Piano Sonatas by John Davison with pianist Charles Abramovic will be coming out shortly. In 1999 Ms.Jacob was featured on WRTI’s “Notes from Philadelphia”, conducting performances of the Chamber Orchestra of Bryn Mawr in works by Haverford Professor Curt Caccioppo and Ferruccio Busoni. She has performed as cellist with Orchestra 2001, Penn Contemporary Players, the Davidsbund Chamber Players, and has performed as principal cellist for Opera North, The Choral Arts Society and Orchestra 2001. She is an Associate Professor of Music at Haverford College.