The New Albany Symphony Orchestra held its 2026 Student Concerto Competition on Jan. 24 and announced 17-year-old Erik Jacoby as the Orchestra’s Junior Division winner.
The New Albany High School honors student has been playing piano since the age of 5 with the assistance of teachers Kathleen Sadoff and Nina Polonsky.
Throughout his career, Jacoby has received recognition from the Chopin Foundation and competed in several events including the Denison University International Piano Competition, OhioMTA senior solo and duet competitions and the Piano Star International Competition.
Jacoby’s recent NASO win came with a solo piano performance with the group on March 8 as well as a featured performance in NASO’s sensory-friendly performance, Rising Stars, March 7.
“I love being on stage,” Jacoby says, “Everyone says I’m a showman.”
Sibling encouragement
At just 4 years old, Jacoby knew he loved the piano after watching his brother, Alek; and sister, Katia; play.
“I always looked up to them and that’s what motivated me to start piano,” Jacoby says.
Jacoby also admired their other hobbies, as both played tennis and encouraged Jacoby to play as well.
Now, alongside piano, Jacoby also plays for the varsity tennis team at New Albany and personally competes in United State Tennis Association tournaments.
Peace behind the piano
While performing can sometimes cause stress for Jacoby, especially during competitions, he says the musicality of it all outweighs the bad and allows him to become one with the performance.
“It is very stressful to play somewhere that’s big and nerve-racking, of course, but as soon as I sit down on the piano and I’m actually playing, my mind really just goes into the music,” Jacoby says. “Honestly, sometimes I create little stories in my music that reflect what it sounds like and what I wanted it to sound like.”
Jacoby finds the emotional factors of the music help distract him from the nerves that come with performing, whether that’s playing his favorite piece, Franz Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2,” or when he is just practicing and playing whatever comes to his head at the moment.
“I can sit down and practice and I can reflect because music is a very emotional type of art,” Jacoby says.
James DeCamp Photography
More than music
From following his siblings’ footsteps to now being the only child in the house, Jacoby has gained a newfound level of independence and created his own path.
“I can control myself and do what I do on my own, and that’s really brought the atmosphere to be more encouraging in my house,” he says.
Jacoby balances his abnormal schedules with typical teen activities, such as hanging around Market Street or Rocky Fork Metro Park with his friends and joining his mom on nightly walks around their neighborhood.
As a junior, Jacoby feels it is a bit early to decide on college goals, but he does know he would like to accommodate all his hobbies. During this past spring semester, he took a music theory class which piqued his interest in music and mathematics. The course inspired him to research schools that will meet his creative and logistical needs.
Maggie Valentine is an editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
