Jacob Joyce, age 17, began playing the violin at age three after watching From "Mao to Mozart", a documentary about Isaac Stern’s groundbreaking trip to China following the Cultural Revolution.

He studied initially with Anna Weller, his teacher for 11 years. He had his first public performance as a soloist with the Toledo Symphony at age ten. Jacob studied for two years with Michael Avsharian, and has since been studying with Aaron Berofsky at the University of Michigan.

Jacob has won numerous competitions and awards as a violinist. He was selected as a national finalist in the American String Teachers Association National Solo Competition, won the Michigan Music Teachers Association Solo Competition, and won the Coda Bow award for the Michigan ASTA solo competition, among others. In collaboration with fellow musicians, he has also won awards as a chamber musician, including the Downbeat Magazine award for Best High School Classical Ensemble and a performance with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble.

Jacob is Concertmaster of the Pioneer High School Symphony Orchestra and the Michigan Youth Symphony Orchestra at the University of Michigan School of Music.