Jacob Joseph began studying piano when he was eight years old as a part of his homeschool curriculum. As a grade-school student, Jacob showed outstanding potential to be a somewhat average pianist, but an interest in composition and creative music making led him to pursue music studies at the collegiate level anyway. He graduated with his BM in Piano Performance from Liberty University in 2017, and is currently pursuing a MM in Piano Pedagogy at the University of South Carolina where he studies privately under Dr. Charles Fugo.​As a teacher, Jacob maintained a private studio in Virginia for two years before moving to South Carolina to pursue his master’s degree. He enjoys working with any student who has a desire to learn, from beginners as young as four, to adults and advanced students. One of his students was the winner of the solo piano division of the 2018 Home Educators Association of Virginia Annual Music Competition. In addition to independent private teaching, Jacob has also taught group piano, music theory, and aural skills at the collegiate level as a part of his assistantship at the University of South Carolina. He is an active member of Music Teachers National Association and a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music. Most of Jacob’s performance experience comes from the realm of solo and collaborative classical repertoire, and congregational and contemporary Christian music. Whatever the genre, he believes that music is art, and that art is about saying something. It is his ambition in his own study, performing, and improvising to discover and convey as much meaning as possible, to enjoy the act of exploring music, and to help his students to do the same. In addition to his official studies, Jacob also enjoys dabbling in improvisation, songwriting, and composition. He also enjoys writing novels and hopes to publish at least one before he dies. He is blessed to be the eldest of ten brothers and sisters and to have grown up in the (somewhat) back-country of Virginia. As a pianist, songwriter, and teacher, Jacob’s greatest desire is to show forth the glory and beauty of God as it is reflected in music.