Applause is fleeting, so these achievements deserve another ovation. From the classroom to the concert hall to conferences and symposia, you’ll find Jacobs students blazing trails at home and abroad. Check back often to see their inspirational work in performance, teaching, and research.
Appointed Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Indianapolis
Appointed Instructor of Music Theory at the University of Alabama School of Music
Appointed Assistant Professor (Guitar) at the University of Louisville School of Music
Appointed Assistant Conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic and Music Director of the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra
Instructor of Music
Colorado State University
Adjunct Lecturer, Guitar
State University of New York at Fredonia
Awarded first prize in the Piano Solo category for A Night at the Observatory and in the Chamber Music Ensemble category for Heather Fields at the National Federation of Music Clubs' Emil and Ruth Beyer Annnual Composition Awards
Co-winner, The American Prize in Composition—vocal chamber music (professional division)—The Charles Ives Award in Chamber Music
Pin-Hong Lin (MM Piano), third prize and Prize of the Mayor of Bydgoszcz, Rafał Bruski, for best performance of a Classical sonata
NOLA Chamber Fest
New Orleans Friends of Music Emerging Ensemble Division
Vinola Trio (Li-Jie Yu, clarinet; Laurel Gagnon, violin; Ruoyang Xiang, piano), finalists
World Piano Teachers Association-Canada International Pianist-Composer Competition
Miles Swaminathan (BM Piano), first place
NOLA Chamber Fest
New Orleans Friends of Music Emerging Ensemble Division
Vinola Trio (Li-Jie Yu, clarinet; Laurel Gagnon, violin; Ruoyang Xiang, piano), finalists
Erinys Quartet (Elizabeth Stewart, Joosep Reimaa, Marija Räisänen, Stergios Theodoridis), first prize
Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition
Robert Wente (PD Voice), winner, baritone
NOLA Chamber Fest
New Orleans Friends of Music Emerging Ensemble Division
Vinola Trio (Li-Jie Yu, clarinet; Laurel Gagnon, violin; Ruoyang Xiang, piano), finalists
Composition
Conferences & Symposia
National Music in Games Society Virtual Summit
March 6-7, 2026
David Lai (DM Piano) performed Form and Freedom: A Journey Through Keys, a solo piano recital, on the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage August 21, 2026.
Caio Lopes (DM Choral Conducting) served as Assistant Chorus Master for Atlanta Opera's 2026 production of Twilight of the Gods
Konstantinos Alexopoulos (MM Orchestral Conducting)
Debut performance conducting the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation National Symphony Orchestra
(May 17, 2026)
Voice
Performances
Jonathan Elmore (DM Voice)
Metropolitan Opera debut: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Jacob Burk (DM Viola)
Author, "Supporting Emotional Development in the Viola Studio through Intentional Listening and Creative Response" in Journal of the American Viola Society
