Biography

Jacob Nissly was appointed Principal Percussion of the San Francisco Symphony in 2013. Previously, he was principal percussion of the Cleveland Orchestra and the Detroit Symphony. He also served as a member of the New World Symphony. Mr. Nissly has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera, Houston Symphony, and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He is on the percussion faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory and was previously on the percussion faculty at the Eastman School of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music. In 2014 he gave recitals at SFJAZZ as a part of the San Francisco Jazz Festival, and he was a featured artist at the Ojai Music Festival in 2015. Mr. Nissly holds a Bachelor of Music and Jazz Studies from Northwestern University where he studied with Michael Burritt, James Ross, and Paul Wertico. He received his Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School where he studied with Greg Zuber and Dan Druckman. He began his percussion studies with Woody Smith in Iowa. 

(April 2017)