Biography

An accomplished violinist, conductor, and teacher, Ryan Jacobsen’s passion for music has taken him across the country. As a violinist, he has won several prestigious competitions, including the MusicFest Northwest Young Artist competition as well as the Whitman Symphony Concerto and Aria competition. Ryan has also been invited to solo with the Spokane Symphony, the Walla Walla Symphony, the Whitman Symphony, and most recently, the Douglas High School Orchestra. He has performed for and worked with with numerous renowned artists including Philip Quint, Rachel Barton Pine, Augustin Hadelich, James Buswell, and the Takacs Quartet. Also a talented orchestral player, Ryan has performed with various professional symphonies such as the Seattle Symphony, Spokane Symphony, and Boulder Philharmonic, as well as several festival orchestras around the northwest. He was also the concertmaster of the University of Colorado, Boulder Symphony Orchestra. Since 2011, he has performed in Carnegie Hall in New York City, Benaroya Hall in Seattle, and Boettcher Hall in Denver.

In 2019, Ryan founded the Simone Quartet, a group comprised of doctoral students from the University of Colorado, Boulder. The ensemble specializes in performing the works of historically marginalized composers, particularly living ones. The quartet was selected and received funding to participate in a 6-week chamber music program in Siena, Italy that included public performances in Rome, Cremona, Alba, Florence, and Siena.

Ryan has studied violin pedagogy with many highly regarded educators around the country through institutes and workshops. As a Suzuki certified teacher, Ryan has developed three separate private violin studios in the past 11 years teaching students of all ages. He specializes in working with young children and has a gift for connecting with budding musicians. He has been invited to work with students at many different schools as a master teacher and section leader. An aspiring conductor, he served for a year as the Assistant Conductor of the Whitman College Symphony and trained under the batons of Neil Varon, Carl Topilow, Gary Lewis, and David Jacobs.

Ryan recently completed his final year of the Doctor of Musical Arts program at the University of Colorado, Boulder with a Teaching Assistantship. He hopes eventually to secure a position at a university teaching violin while conducting a symphony orchestra. In his spare time, he enjoys attending concerts, backpacking through the canyons of Utah, and reading.