Cultural DistrictClick here to go back to the home page

Jacob Joyce is Associate Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, appointed by Music Director Manfred Honeck in October 2021. A dynamic and innovative presence on the podium, Joyce served as Resident Conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony, appearing with the ISO several times in the '19-'20 and '20-'21 seasons, in various classical, education, Happy Hour, and community concerts. He also made his debut with several American orchestras in recent seasons, including the Detroit, St. Louis, Houston, Colorado, Ann Arbor, Richmond, Baton Rouge and Spartanburg symphonies. Abroad, Joyce has conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, the NDR-Sinfonieorchester, the hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, and the Frankfurt Museumsorchester and the Hamilton Philharmonic. For his work in Indianapolis and around the world, Joyce was awarded a Solti Career Assistance Award in 2020.

Joyce previously served as the Conducting Fellow for the Fort Worth Symphony, with whom he collaborates frequently, and has also held positions as the Associate Conductor of the Yale Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Berkeley College Orchestra, Music Director of the Opera Theater of Yale College, and Cover Conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston. An avid promoter of contemporary music, Joyce has conducted several premieres of orchestral and operatic works. Joyce is also an advocate for bringing classical music to new audiences. He is the host and creator of the podcast Attention to Detail: The Classical Music Listening Guide, which provides people of all backgrounds with basic techniques for listening to classical music. He also works extensively with educators, music teachers, and orchestra directors, providing career advice and instruction to students across the country.

Joyce studied Orchestral Conducting with Hugh Wolff at the New England Conservatory. He has also received instruction at the Tanglewood Music Center and the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen. In recognition of his work, Joyce was awarded the Robert Spano Conducting Prize at Aspen, and was a semifinalist in the LSO Donatella Flick Conducting Competition and the Solti International Conducting Competition. Joyce graduated from Yale College in 2014, with a B.A. in Music and Economics. He also received a M.M. in Violin Performance from the Yale School of Music in 2015, studying with Syoko Aki.

As a violinist, Joyce has performed with several orchestras nationwide, and was awarded the Broadus Erle Prize for an Outstanding Violinist at the Yale School of Music. He served as the concertmaster of the Yale Symphony Orchestra and performed regularly with the Boston Philharmonic and the Atlantic Symphony. He has previously attended the Tanglewood Music Center, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Encore School for Strings.

Dennis O'Boyle joined the second violin section of the Pittsburgh Symphony in the fall of 2000 under Music Director Mariss Jansons and attained the position of fourth chair in 2003. In 2011 he was formally appointed assistant principal second violin after serving the previous three years as acting assistant principal 

Before arriving in Pittsburgh, Dennis O'Boyle spent three years in Florida as a fellow in Miami Beach's New World Symphony and subsequently as principal second violin of the Florida Orchestra, Tampa Bay. 

Since arriving in Pittsburgh, Dennis O'Boyle has been active in the musical life of the city, participating in many and varied chamber music performances around town. Recent notable appearances include performances of Stravinsky's "L'Histoire du Soldat" with Attack Theatre of Pittsburgh, annual appearances in the Chamber Music Concert of the Pittsburgh Jewish Music Festival, and frequent performances in the Chatham University Chamber Music Series. O'Boyle also teaches privately and coaches chamber music and sectionals with the Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestra. In addition, during the summer he is a member of the prestigious Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming. 

From a musical family, Dennis O’Boyle began studying the violin at the age of three with his mother and grew up surrounded by the sounds of string playing from her numerous students as well as his four sisters, who all went on to become professional musicians. O'Boyle spent his early childhood in Lincoln, Nebraska, but later the family spent five years in Peru and Chile, which was formative in cultivating his continuing passion for world travel. 

Dennis O'Boyle holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder, as a student of Oswald Lehnert. He earned his Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Ik Hwan Bae. O'Boyle performs on a violin made by Gioffredo Cappa in 1690.  He lives in Squirrel Hill with his wife, Anna Wukich, and their two sons, Henry and Michael.