Eureka Symphony
The Eureka Symphony is composed of community members — including teachers, doctors, professors, retirees, students, and more — from across the Humboldt Bay area. Each year they perform a wide range of contemporary and classical compositions with appeal to all ages.
They have been proud to premiere several works in the last few years and are delighted to welcome acclaimed guest soloists to join our concerts. They usually offer at least one choral and one theatrically narrated selection during their season. Over twenty years ago, an enthusiastic group of local musicians assembled under the leadership fo HSU’s music faculty to play Johannes Brahms’ Requiem, under the baton of Kenneth Hannaford.
The Eureka Symphony Orchestra was born. HSU faculty members Valgene Phillips and Kenneth Ayoob contributed the resources, artistic leadership and stability that led to the next phase of orchestra development under the leadership of Music Director Carol Jacobson. A symbiotic relationship with the HSU Music Department continues and outstanding guest artists and soloists are often products of this fine program. Audiences have grown significantly and a community board of directors has helped develop more community resources.
Over the years, the Eureka Symphony has perfomed in many venues, becoming a community partner with the Arkley Center for the Performing Arts (ACPA) in 2007. After a one-year absence from ACPA in the 2013-14 season, the orchestra returned to the ACPA in the 2014-15 season.
The success of their Symphony is assured into the future with the outstanding guidance of its committed Board of Directors and the generous support of this community.
Carol Jacobson
(Music Director and Conductor)
Carol Jacobson has been the Music Director and Conductor of the Eureka Symphony for more than a decade. Teacher and conductor of the 
Arcata/McKinleyville High School Orchestra and Madrigal Choir for 20 years, she has inspired numerous young people to excel. She says, “Once you have experienced the magic of exceeding your expectations, your life is never the same again.” An accomplished cellist, Ms. Jacobson earned her bachelor’s degree at Humboldt State University, with further studies at the Salzburg Mozarteum, The Royal Danish Conservatory and the Netherlands Royal Conservatory in The Hague.
She was a member of the Netherlands National Ballet Orchestra in Amsterdam, the Netherlands Radio Symphony, the Oslo Opera Orchestra, the Netherlands Strijkers Ensemble, and the North Coast Chamber Players.
She was conductor of the Humboldt State University Orchestra and directed the Humboldt Music Academy. She plays in the Resonance Ensemble with Terrie Baune and is principal cellist in the North State Symphony.
In 2015, Jacobson resigned her teaching duties to concentrate on development of the Eureka Symphony and to devote more time to conducting and performing as a cellist. She has received numerous awards, including the American Association of University Women “Woman of the Year” award for the Humboldt chapter and the Humboldt County Office of Education “Jean Olsen Career Achievement Award.” The North Coast Journal referred to Ms. Jacobson as a “force of nature.”
