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Erik Jacobs

@thechoirdude

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🎶 Choir 👨‍🏫 Teacher ☕️ Addict
@slychorale Co-Founder/Associate Artistic Director
@willardchorus Choral Director

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One stage. One unforgettable piece. 💜💚

Willard Middle School’s Wildcat Advanced Treble Chorus is honored to present Sydney Guillaume’s Men Nou—created in collaboration with the composer himself.

Featuring the Wildcat Advanced Treble Chorus under the direction of Erik Jacobs, with video & audio production by @blobfish.media and collaborative pianist Julie Longmire.

Next stop: The Virginia Music Educators Association Annual Conference in Richmond, where these incredible students will proudly represent our school on November 19.

We can’t wait to share this journey with you.

#WillardChorus #SydneyGuillaume #VMEA #Choir #MusicEducation taken in Willard Middle School LCPS by @thechoirdude

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2 months ago

Some gifts aren’t meant to be wrapped. 🎁🎶

Going back to Reflections 2026 with Illuminate and Tracy Wong’s beautiful Take This Gift. 🩷💚

Illuminate is our auditioned treble choir for singers in grades 7–9—and there’s something pretty special about young singers learning to trust their voices, trust one another, and then share what they’ve built together.

🎹 Julie Longmire, pianist
🎥 Audio/Video: Blobfish Media
🎼 Erik Jacobs, conductor

✨ Find your voice. Find your choir.
Learn more at slychorale.org.

#SouthLoudounYouthChorale #Illuminate #YouthChoir #ChoralMusic #FindYourVoice taken in Loudon County, Virginia by @thechoirdude

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2 days ago

Nothing like a little Friday morning serenade. 😂🎶

Our Wildcat Low Voices took their show on the road this morning for a mini-performance for some of our 8th grade teachers…

…and naturally, “One Semester of Spanish Love Song” did NOT disappoint. 🇪🇸❤️

8th grade tenors + basses. Absolutely committed to the bit. 😂

💜💚 #WillardChorus #ChoirDude #MiddleSchoolChoir #TenorBass taken in Willard Middle School LCPS by @thechoirdude

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3 days ago

Another pretty amazing stop on our Road to Richmond! 💜💚

Today our Wildcat Advanced Treble singers got to meet and work with Brazilian composer Daisy Fragoso, whose music we’ll be performing at VMEA this November!

Daisy helped us with our Portuguese, shared some insight into the music, and even got us up and moving with a little samba! 🇧🇷🎶

It’s pretty incredible that a choir room in Aldie, Virginia can connect with a composer in Brazil and make music together. Different languages, different parts of the world, connected by something we all love.

Huge thanks to Daisy for sharing her time, energy, and expertise with us today. What a cool experience for our girls!

The Road to Richmond continues! 💜💚

#WillardChorus #RoadToRichmond #VMEA2026 #MusicConnects taken in Willard Middle School LCPS by @thechoirdude

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4 days ago

I’ve taught middle school choir for more than 13 years. I have a thriving program, including more than 50 boys in my 8th grade choir.

This year, only 4 are planning to audition for All-District Honor Choir.

My first reaction was frustration. Instead, I asked them why.

The answer, overwhelmingly, wasn’t that they don’t love choir.

They’re already booked.

Travel sports. Practices. Games. Training. Other commitments. There’s simply no room for anything else.

I love that kids play sports. Athletics teach teamwork, discipline, resilience, leadership, and so much more.

But when did we decide that 12- and 13-year-olds need to start choosing who they’re going to be?

According to the NCAA, only 3.6% of high school boys’ basketball players, 5.9% of soccer players, 8.1% of football players, and 8.8% of baseball players will compete at any NCAA level. The percentages reaching Division I are smaller still.

Meanwhile, the American Academy of Pediatrics has warned about early sports specialization, including increased risks of overuse injury, overtraining, and burnout.

And here’s something families may not realize: opportunities exist on the other side of the arts, too. Colleges offer scholarships for singers, including non-music majors, and some specifically prioritize tenor and bass voices.

I’m not saying your kid should quit soccer and join choir.

I’m saying your kid should have the chance to do both.

Sing in the choir. Play soccer. Try theater. Join robotics. Run track. Pick up an instrument. Paint something. Try something you’re terrible at.

Middle school shouldn’t be about building the perfect resume for a 12-year-old.

It should be about discovery.

There will be plenty of time to specialize later.

Maybe one of the greatest gifts we can give adolescents is enough room in their lives to discover all the things they never knew they could be. taken in Aldie, Virginia by @thechoirdude

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5 days ago

Back at it with the best crew 🙌 taken in Aldie, Virginia by @thechoirdude

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8 days ago

POV: You’re stuck in a room with me for two hours while I make you do increasingly weird things with your body just to see if your choir makes a different sound.

Had an absolute blast working with the Arlington Public Schools secondary choir directors today on conducting, gesture, intention, perception, and the never-ending pursuit of getting what’s in our heads to actually come out of our hands.

Lots of experimenting. Lots of risk-taking. Lots of “well, that felt weird.” And hopefully a few new tools to take back into the rehearsal room.

Huge thanks to everyone who made today happen—and especially to the incredible Arlington choral educators who were willing to jump in, be vulnerable, try some weird stuff, and make music together.

Turns out conducting is a lot less about waving your arms and a lot more about figuring out what the heck your body is actually saying.

#TheChoirDude #ChoralConducting #MusicEducation #ChoirDirector #ProfessionalDevelopment taken in Arlington, Virginia by @thechoirdude

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a month ago

The B-roll nobody asked for.

Summer camp: director’s cut. taken in Aldie, Virginia by @thechoirdude

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a month ago

☀️🎶 TAKE US BACK TO SLYC SUMMER CAMP! 🎶☀️

Our Week 2 campers absolutely brought it with “Yonder Come Day,” arranged by the Podd Brothers. 🙌

Great music. Great people. THAT SLYC ENERGY. 💗💚

🎵 Directed by Erik Jacobs
🎥 Audio + Video by @Blobfish.Media

And the best part? You can be part of what’s next. 👀

🎤 Auditions for our 2026–27 season are OPEN NOW!

Find your choir. Find your people. Find your voice. 💗💚
👉 www.slychorale.org

#GetSLYC #SLYC #YouthChoir #ChoirTok #LoudounCounty taken in Aldie, Virginia by @thechoirdude

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a month ago

I’ve been teaching for over 13 years now.

As I’m about to begin another year—welcoming a new group of kids while preparing to send another on to whatever comes next—I’ve been thinking about a few things I know to be true.

This post is probably more for me than anyone else. A reminder of WHY I keep showing up after all these years. Even when I’m tired. Even when the work feels overwhelming. Even when I wonder if I still have it in me.

I genuinely believe in the power of music. To connect. To heal. To help us find purpose. To inspire. To create.

I genuinely believe that being in a classroom is the closest I will ever get to making some kind of difference in my own tiny corner of this world.

Without music, I wouldn’t be here.

Without teachers who believed in me, invested in me, challenged me, and gave me a place to belong, I’m not sure I would’ve made it. So many I grew up with didn’t.

So as I start another year, I choose to remember that despite how much education has changed, despite how overwhelming the work can feel, and despite all the reasons there are to become discouraged, this fundamental truth remains:

The world needs teachers.

The world needs music.

And I still believe deeply in both.

Wishing all my colleagues the very best as we get ready to climb back aboard the greatest, worst roller coaster there is.

Here we go again.

📸 @pixelmazix by @thechoirdude

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a month ago

Tenors + basses… this one’s for you. 🔥🎶

Fortify brought the power with “Canto Del Agua” (arr. David Hill) at our Reflections Spring Concert — and we’re just getting started.

The 2026–2027 season is coming… and we’re looking for the next group of incredible tenor and bass singers to join us. 👀

Ready to sing with Fortify?
🎤 Visit the SLYC website + fill out our interest form today!

🎥🎧 @blobfish.media
🎼 Conducted by Erik Jacobs

💗💚 #getSLYC #SLYC #TenorBass #ChoirTok #ChoralMusic taken in Aldie, Virginia by @thechoirdude

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2 months ago

If you give a choir teacher a microphone…

…you’re getting a TED Talk whether you asked for one or not. 😂🎶

📸: @sphilben taken in South Riding, Virginia by @thechoirdude

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2 months ago