Background & Offerings

"Dr. J"'s coaching centers around the aspects that form a complete player: strong fundamentals, physical intent, and clear expression. He works with his private students to create an individualized technical language to be used in service of expression, and with ensembles to create experiences pleasing for both the players and audience. His students regularly perform well in auditions, competitions, and display rapid improvement in a short timeframe.
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Commanding a "tone that is just…delicious" (W.C. Nyaho), American violist/violinist Jacob Clewell is proving himself a string player of rare range and versatility. Gold Medalist of the Vancouver International Music Competition and 2026 Emerging Artist of the American Viola Society, he has performed on the stages of Carnegie Hall and the Festival Pablo Casals in Prades, appeared as concerto soloist with orchestras across the United States and Canada — among them the Juno Award–winning Sinfonia Toronto under conductor Nurhan Arman — and shared the stage with Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós at Roy Thompson Hall. His festival appearances span the Scotia Festival in Halifax, Green Lake Chamber Music Festival, Music Niagara, Lake District Summer Music in England, and the Northern Lights Music Festival in Ajijic, Mexico, among others.

As co-founder of The Ezra Duo with pianist Sasha Bult-Ito, Clewell has performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and Koerner Hall in Toronto, and appeared as a guest at a G7 Summit event at the Royal Ontario Museum. The duo released their debut album Mystic Journey in August 2024 on Akashic Classics, distributed worldwide by Universal Music Group. Clewell and Bult-Ito have also served as Co-Artistic Directors and Artist Faculty of the Emerald Coast Chamber Music Festival in Florida. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Toronto, where he studied as the Yo-Yo Ma Fellow under Annalee Patipatanakoon and Masumi Per Rostad. He performs on a restored c. 1580 Brothers Amati viola and a 1912 Daniel Tomashev violin. More information, including upcoming performances, can be found at www.jacobclewell.com.