Jacob Caruk
Johannes Bach - Violin Sonata No. 1, first movement
Though Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was best known as a keyboard virtuoso, he was also a highly skilled violinist. He grew up listening to his father play the violin, and it was as a violinist that he obtained his first public appointment, playing in the Weimar Court Orchestra.
Bach supplied violinists with great masterpieces to play, but the unquestioned pinnacle of his writing for the violin is the set of six unaccompanied works which he completed in 1720. Of the six works he wrote, three are sonatas cast in a four-movement structure that mirrors the pattern of the Baroque sonata da chiesa (or “church sonata”), comprising a rhetorical slow movement, an allegro fugue, a more songful slow movement, and a quick movement of lesser density.
Jacob Caruk began studying violin in the early 2000s at age 8, beginning at UConn's Community School of the Arts under Ruth Shilling. He then began more advanced studies under the advisement of Mickey Reisman through the University of Hartford Community Division. After studying with Mr. Reisman for the better part of a decade, Mr. Caruk moved on to the University of Massachusetts Amherst to study under Elizabeth Chang as a violin performance and music education major, working under her tutelage from 2012-14. Mr. Caruk no longer studies violin collegiately - he has since declared himself as a clinical psychology major where he resides in Connecticut, studying to become a licensed therapist.
Jacob still plays violin regularly, always looking to improve upon his studies. He greatly enjoys improvising and has been known to play jazz violin for pleasure. Other musical highlights include performances in Italy through the Music Adventure Chamber Music Program, attendance at New England Music Camp, and studies in Germany under the supervision of Mickey Reisman.
Jacob is the grandson of NCO bassist, Nancy Mizen. He will continue to explore violin technique as he begins studies with NCO violinist, Aniko Geladze. He is playing an 1835 Italian violin that belonged to his great-great grandfather (Nancy’s grandfather), Sándor Füredi (1875—1956), a renowned concert artist in Hungary, who toured Europe at age 21 with the Johann Strauss Orchestra. Jacob feels a strong connection to Sándor.