Resident creates beautiful melodies as violinist, opera tenor

By Sara Smith
Posted Thursday, July 3, 2008

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By Sara L. Smith
VIEW Staff Writer

BURTON — Many would call him a musical prodigy, but to Aaron McCoy-Jacobs, music is just a part of who he is.

McCoy-Jacobs, a 23-year-old opera tenor and accomplished violinist, has lived his whole life in Burton, but his musical aspirations have already taken him far away — and future plans are expected to take him even farther.

“Music is my passion, followed by language and history,” said McCoy-Jacobs. “I really try to incorporate as much history into opera as I truly can.”

The Central Michigan University (CMU) student, who is studying voice and African and Arabic history, with minors in band and language, will graduate in approximately 18 months.

“I would like to attend a musical conservatory in Europe,” he said. “I like the small intimate settings like that. I am looking into some conservatories in Edinburgh and York. They both have the operatic program that best suits my voice.”

McCoy-Jacobs has not only been hitting musical notes with his voice, but he has been honing his skills as a violinist since early childhood, first picking up the instrument at age five.

“My favorite instrument is the violin and I’ve been studying it for 18 years,” McCoy-Jacobs enthused.
He currently owns an antique violin of undetermined pedigree, which he uses during performances. Little is known about the violin, save for the fact that it was discovered in a barn in the South after World War I, fire damaged, with all of the manufacturer information burned off.

The violin was restored and eventually sold to McCoy-Jacobs approximately two years ago.

“It’s beautiful, and it’s instrumental to my music,” he added.

Performing in front of an audience is par for the course for McCoy-Jacobs, who sang in front of select members of Congress, former Flint mayor Woodrow Stanley and other dignitaries during a recent performance honoring the 10th anniversary of Flint Job Corp in Flint 2 Fridays ago.

The young musician has performed in front of crowds in divergent backdrops running the gamut from Carnegie Hall to Whiting Auditorium for the Holiday Pops performances in 2005 and 2006. He sang at a $100-per-plate fundraiser benefiting the Michigan Opera Theatre (MOT) at the Fox and Hound restaurant in Bloomfield Hills last year. He is currently employed as a “hired tenor” for the MOT.

McCoy-Jacobs performed regularly with the Flint Youth Symphony for six years, playing violin, while his sister — also an accomplished musician in her own right, who has since changed gears to study communications — played the flute.

He also performed at the Buick Open for a fundraiser in conjunction with the Flint Institute of Music. He sings regularly with the Jubilee Chorale, a musical group based out of Flint, which is scheduled to perform for a number of “Music in the Parks” concert series later this summer, sponsored by FIM.