Biography
Among the musically inventive siblings shaping New York’s contemporary scene are violinist Colin Jacobsen and his brother Eric, who together established the ensembles Brooklyn Rider and The Knights. The pair have also appeared with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, while Colin has moved into composing, frequently drawing on global musical traditions.
Born in the New York region in 1978, Colin and Eric are the sons of Metropolitan Opera Orchestra violinist Eddie Jacobsen and flutist Ivy Jacobsen, who perished in an automobile accident during the boys’ childhood. Colin trained at the Juilliard School and at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. He became a member of the Silk Road Ensemble upon its inception in 2000, taking part in landmark performances before the world’s largest wooden Buddha in Nara, Japan, and at the Red Fort in Agra, India. In 2003 he received an Avery Fisher Career Grant. As concerto soloist he has appeared with the New York Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony, and he has introduced violin concertos by Lisa Bielawa and Kevin Beavers.
The brothers launched Brooklyn Rider in 2005; the versatile ensemble has produced widely praised cross-genre recordings and worked with artists including Philip Glass, Osvaldo Golijov, singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, banjoist Béla Fleck, and pipa virtuoso Wu Man. They subsequently created the chamber orchestra The Knights, which signed with Sony and released several albums, among them an all-Beethoven program.
As a composer Colin has supplied works for both Brooklyn Rider and The Knights, notably the Brooklyn homage Brooklesca. He has performed the Brahms Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77, with Eric conducting the Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra. In 2019 he recorded Bielawa’s My Outstretched Hand with The Knights under Eric’s direction. He is also a United States Artists Fellow.
Born in the New York region in 1978, Colin and Eric are the sons of Metropolitan Opera Orchestra violinist Eddie Jacobsen and flutist Ivy Jacobsen, who perished in an automobile accident during the boys’ childhood. Colin trained at the Juilliard School and at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. He became a member of the Silk Road Ensemble upon its inception in 2000, taking part in landmark performances before the world’s largest wooden Buddha in Nara, Japan, and at the Red Fort in Agra, India. In 2003 he received an Avery Fisher Career Grant. As concerto soloist he has appeared with the New York Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony, and he has introduced violin concertos by Lisa Bielawa and Kevin Beavers.
The brothers launched Brooklyn Rider in 2005; the versatile ensemble has produced widely praised cross-genre recordings and worked with artists including Philip Glass, Osvaldo Golijov, singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, banjoist Béla Fleck, and pipa virtuoso Wu Man. They subsequently created the chamber orchestra The Knights, which signed with Sony and released several albums, among them an all-Beethoven program.
As a composer Colin has supplied works for both Brooklyn Rider and The Knights, notably the Brooklyn homage Brooklesca. He has performed the Brahms Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77, with Eric conducting the Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra. In 2019 he recorded Bielawa’s My Outstretched Hand with The Knights under Eric’s direction. He is also a United States Artists Fellow.