Aaron Jacobs

Aaron Jacobs, Assistant Professor of String Pedagogy and Director of the UNM Music Prep School and String Pedagogy Lab School, is an accomplished string player and passionate educator who has channeled his energy into inspiring musicians at every level—from preschool-age beginners to graduate students and beyond.

For more than 20 years, Aaron taught at universities, academies, music schools, and summer institutes in the midwestern United States. He has served as a violin professor on the faculties of Millikin University and Illinois State University and is a licensed music educator with public school teaching experience at the primary and secondary levels. While at the University of Illinois, he founded the Illinois String Academy, a dynamic program that offered private and group instruction on the violin, viola, cello, and double bass, as well as orchestra, chamber music, music theory, and composition. He also created a violin program for the Danville, Illinois public school district that served nearly 200 first- and second-grade students.

An innovative and engaging clinician, Aaron has served frequently as a resource to string teachers throughout the United States and on six continents. Since 2017, he has worked with hundreds of professional educators, performers, and students as a faculty member of the Paul Rolland String Pedagogy Workshop, including four years as co-director. In addition, Aaron has presented research and clinical sessions at numerous venues—such as the national conference of the American String Teachers Association and the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic—and is regularly invited to lead master classes and clinics for teachers and students of all ages.

Aaron remains active as a performer as well. Since 2005, he and his wife, pianist Tatiana Shustova, have performed frequently in Europe and across the United States, earning awards at two international competitions. He was a featured soloist with several orchestras in Illinois and Ohio and has served multiple appointments as concertmaster, principal second violin, or principal viola in professional ensembles. Notable chamber music collaborations have included the Sariana Trio, Chambana Trio, Illinois Arts Trio, and close work with composers Stacy Garrop, Missy Mazzoli, and Bright Sheng in the performance of their works.

Aaron strives each day to live out his mission of genuinely caring about people and enhancing their lives through music. Learn more about Aaron, including his research and performance footage, at his website: aaronjacobs.com.

DMA – Violin Performance and Literature, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
MM – Violin Performance and String Pedagogy, Northwestern University
Artist Certificate – Violin and Viola Performance, Bowling Green State University
BM – Music Education, Bowling Green State University