Maximilian Music

MAXIMILIAN JACOBS is a versatile violinist who blends his diverse musical background into original compositions and improvisations. Jacobs performs swing, straight-ahead jazz, klezmer, bluegrass, and blues at venues like the Kennedy Center, Strathmore, Creative Alliance, and An Die Musik.

In 2025, Max was one of six Artists in Residence at Strathmore in Bethesda, Maryland, for the program's 20th year. Strathmore featured Jacobs at concerts throughout the year, including his headline month of February. Jacobs’s concert “Remembering Eddie South” paid tribute to legendary African-American jazz violinist Eddie South. He then premiered his original composition “Octet No. 1” at the Strathmore Mansion, a four-movement work that combines jazz, klezmer, and classical music.

As a bandleader, Jacobs is often featured in regional jazz festivals.
The Max Jacobs Quintet opened The 2024 Summer Gypsy Jazz Festival in Maryland, performing classic swing and Django Reinhardt standards alongside Jacobs’s originals. The Charm City Django Jazz Festival featured Jacobs in 2021 and 2023, where he performed classic standards by Eddie South and Stephane Grappelli.

Equally at home playing classical music, Jacobs holds a section violin position with the Great Falls Philharmonic in Virginia. In 2024, Max founded a monthly concert series at Black Cherry Puppet Theatre with his colleague, clarinetist Sophia Ross, as the Amanita Duo. On the third Thursday of every month, the Amanita Duo pairs classical favorites like Bach and Mozart with local artists.

Max earned a Master of Music in Violin Performance in 2024 under Professor Irina Muresanu at the University of Maryland. Jacobs has served as a Teaching Artist for the Cayman Arts Festival since 2022.