Eric Jacobsen, known around the globe for his work with cutting-edge string quartet Brooklyn Rider and cellist Yo-Yo Ma, is the new music director of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra.
“It’s a great honor that a musician of his caliber is joining us,” said David Schillhammer, the Phil’s executive director. “His qualities of leadership, inspiration, passion and compassion will lift our organization to another level.”
Jacobsen’s five-year appointment was revealed Monday evening to hundreds of Philharmonic subscribers attending the orchestra’s season announcement at The Plaza Live in Orlando.
As music director, he will be the top artistic official at the orchestra, choosing programs, arranging guest artists and conducting concerts. His selection followed a two-year search for a replacement for Christopher Wilkins, music director from 2005-13.
As part of the search, Jacobsen and the four other finalists each conducted for the Philharmonic this season.
“From the first day I arrived in Orlando, I knew I wanted to find my place in this vibrant and beautiful city,” he said. “The continued building of a great orchestra goes hand in hand with the continued building of Orlando — a city already rich in culture and art.”
Jacobsen has performed in Central Florida before. The Bach Festival Society of Winter Park brought Brooklyn Rider to town in 2010 and 2012.
“It’s a huge coup for Orlando,” said Betsy Gwinn, executive director of the Bach Festival Society. “He’s an exceptionally well-respected musician. He brings a real broad, world perspective. He’ll be a fantastic ambassador for music in our community.”
Jacobsen, a cello player as well as conductor, has toured extensively with Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble as well as collaborated with violinist Itzhak Perlman. He and brother Colin founded The Knights, a New York-based ensemble that mixes traditional and new music. Brooklyn Rider, in which he is cellist, also blends classical music with other genres. The New York Times has hailed him as “an interpretive dynamo.”
At a January concert in the Bob Carr Theater, Jacobsen invited Wu Man to perform a concerto highlighting the pipa, a traditional Asian string instrument. The audience reaction, Jacobsen said, showed him there’s interest in classical concerts outside the tried and true.
“There was a pride in the audience — they were excited to listen to new music,” he said. “There’s a way to [introduce new music] that brings the whole audience along.”
Yet the standard classical repertoire remains close to Jacobsen’s heart: His debut 2015-16 season is built around the works of Maurice Ravel, whose best-known work is 1928’s dramatic “Bolero.” Also on the schedule are works by Brahms and Prokofiev, evenings devoted to Bach and Mozart, as well as two world-premiere pieces and an opera.
Jacobsen, a graduate of The Juilliard School in New York, has been working with Philharmonic leadership since April to plan the next season. His first appearance with the orchestra will be as a cellist in a chamber-music concert July 20. His debut at the conductor’s podium will be Oct. 24.
Concertmaster Rimma Bergeron-Langlois was impressed during Jacobsen’s guest-conducting stint.
“He’s a great collaborator. I think he’ll be a great nurturer” for the musicians, she said. “It’s as if he’s playing with us when he conducts.”
Musicians made up half of the 12-member selection committee; all its members recommended Jacobsen from the five finalists, Schillhammer said. The orchestra’s board of directors unanimously approved the decision at the end of March.
Beyond musicianship, Jacobsen said the orchestra’s strong business side also attracted him to the job. “I’m in awe of how well this group runs,” he said.
He will move to Orlando but continue to travel for his other commitments. His focus, Jacobsen said, will be the Philharmonic.
“I’m definitely aware of the scheduling challenges, but this is a priority,” he said. “When you choose something as your priority, you make it work.”
