Eric Jacobsen is a cellist and conductor residing in Brooklyn, New York. He has performed with Renee Fleming on David Letterman and at the inaugural concert at Zankel Hall at Carnegie. Mr. Jacobsen has also appeared with The Silk Road Ensemble at the opening ceremonies of the Special Olympics in Shanghai.

In 2006 Eric's brother, Colin a violinist, was in residence on NPR's 'Performance Today'. It was during this time that Eric and Colin and their long-standing friends Johnny Gandelsman and Nick Cords came together. Their strong camaraderie and mutual desire to work in the string quartet medium led them to form Brooklyn Rider. Their collaboration with the Iranian kamancheh master Kayhan Kalhor inspired their first album, 'Silent City'. The album includes arrangements and compositions by Mr. Kalhor and Colin Jacobsen. Mr. Jacobsen appeared on eight subsequent recordings with the groundbreaking group.

In addition, Mr. Jacobsen has appeared as soloist with the Riverside Orchestra, the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra, the Greenwich Village Orchestra, the Lake George Chamber Orchestra and the Woodstock Festival Orchestra, the Children's Orchestra Society, and the Mankato Symphony Orchestra. He regularly performs at Bargemusic, often playing with Steven Beck, with whom Mr. Jacobsen has collaborated for over 10 years.

Mr. Jacobsen is a member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project. He has participated in residencies and performances in Azerbaijan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Switzerland and across the USA including The Art Institute of Chicago and The Hollywood Bowl.

In May of 2009, Mr. Jacobsen led The Knights at the opening of the Dresden 'Musikfestspiele' with soloists Dawn Upshaw and Christina Courtin. Mr. Jacobsen was also the cellist in the Mark O'Connor String Quartet performing original works by the great American fiddler.

Mr. Jacobsen is involved in many student projects in universities as well as elementary, middle and high schools. He has taught on the cello and chamber music faculty of NYU where he also conducted the orchestra. Mr. Jacobsen studied at The School for Strings as a youngster and later graduated from The Juilliard School. He worked extensively with the late Harvey Shapiro and with Joseph Elworthy, and he also considers Anner Bylsma and Yo-Yo Ma instrumental influences in his playing.

In the summer time Mr. Jacobsen has appeared at numerous festivals, including Lucerne and Lincoln Center Out of Doors. For 10 years, Mr. Jacobsen and the other members of Brooklyn Rider were the Artistic Directors of The Stillwater Music Festival in Minnesota, bringing such artists as Anne-Sofie von Otter, Bela Fleck, Gabriel Kahane, Aoife O’Donovan and others to rural Minnesota.

Mr. Jacobsen can be heard on recordings with Yo-Yo Ma, Bono, and Mark O'Connor.

Mr. Jacobsen plays a Giovanni Battista Genova cello crafted in Turin 1745.