Eric’s Era Continues for the Symphony

By: Butch Maier
August 25, 2026

September / October 2026

MUSIC DIRECTOR JACOBSEN LEADS ORCHESTRA TO CREATE SPECIAL PERFORMANCES, RECORDINGS

By Butch Maier / Photo Above: Virginia Symphony Orchestra Music Director Eric Jacobsen / Photo by Cara Carmichael

For Eric Jacobsen’s first concert as music director of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra in 2021, he welcomed renowned saxophonist Branford Marsalis. Jacobsen is not one to toot his own horn, so we absolutely must note this: What a start! The 12^th music director in the orchestra’s first 100 years was featured in Coastal Virginia Magazine’s 2021 Fall Arts Preview. Five years later, Jacobsen joined us for a look back.

Coastal Virginia Magazine: What do you remember about starting with the symphony in 2021?

Jacobsen: “There are so many fun ties between now and then. Getting to see the orchestra grow in the last five years musically and in the community has been so great. There have been a couple of pillars that have been fun. The thing that comes to mind immediately is at my first concert as music director, we made a recording with the great Branford Marsalis, and that album [Sound of the Sun, featuring cover art by Coastal Virginia artist Dathan Kane] was just released, and it sounds absolutely magnificent. There are very few times when you have a soloist like Branford with an orchestra coming together and building a project, and so I am so happy that finally came out. It actually was five years in the making, editing and getting it right, and making sure we had the right time to release it. So, we’re really thrilled about that.”

CVM: Back in 2021, you said: “From my very first concert with them, I just felt this willingness among the musicians to be vulnerable—to try different things, to play big, to emote and to love. All of those things translate very powerfully to audiences.” How have those sentiments aged over the past five years?

Jacobsen: “I just love the group so much. I’m just blown away by the artistry and the musicians. And I noticed how people were just willing and interested in owning artistry in such a beautiful way. I feel like every time I’m with the musicians on stage, we are willing to be spontaneous and unique, and it really is exciting.”

Have a story suggestion for “A Look Back”? Email Coastal Virginia Magazine Editor Butch Maier at bmaier@vistamediainc.com.

Butch Maier

Editor, Coastal Virginia Magazine and CoVaBIZ Magazine * + posts and articles

Butch earned a master’s degree in strategic communication from California Baptist University. He has been a journalist for more than 30 years, serving as a writer and editor at The Boston Globe, Bloomberg Industry Group, the Tampa Bay Times, The Plain Dealer, the Akron Beacon Journal, The Virginian-Pilot, and Inside Business.