Music educator and conductor Jacob Hood is the newly-appointed Director of Orchestras at Alpharetta High School in Fulton County, Georgia. From 2017 to 2022, Mr. Hood was Co-Director of Orchestras at Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, GA. The CHHS orchestras consistently received superior ratings at adjudications, performed at the Georgia Music Educators conference, and their public performances have become a staple of the Lawrenceville and Suwanee communities.
While an undergraduate student at the University of Georgia, Mr. Hood was a cellist in the University Symphony Orchestra. He performed dozens of concerts and recitals as a soloist and chamber musician, including more than 50 premiere performances in UGA’s Dancz Center for New Music. In addition to his instrumental performance, he sang as a member of three different choral organizations at UGA and taught for four years in the UGA String Project in the Athens-Clarke County school system.
Mr. Hood has interests in technology and in making the orchestra classroom more efficient for student learning. He is a Level 1 and Level 2 Google Certified Educator. In collaboration with his Collins Hill colleague, Rosie Riquelme-Antunez, he presented their joint research, “Google Apps and the Performing Ensemble,” at the 2020 Georgia Music Educators Association conference.
Currently, he performs in the cello section of the Georgia Philharmonic Orchestra, and teaches a small private studio of young cellists in his home studio. He is sought after as a large ensemble adjudicator, and has guest conducted ensembles throughout the east coast.
Mr. Hood earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree in 2016 from the University of Georgia, where he studied cello with David Starkweather. In 2022 he will complete a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting at Messiah University, where he studies conducting with Timothy Dixon.
Mr. Hood is married and lives with his family in Suwanee, GA. He believes garlic bread should be a food group, adores/requires cold brew coffee, and loves attempting long walks on the beach with his fourteen-pound cat, Lord Tubbington, and his Australian Shepherd puppy, Sir Otis, simultaneously.
FROM MR. HOOD:
Dear Alpharetta Orchestra Community,
My name is Jake Hood, and I am excited and honored to become the next Director of Orchestras at Alpharetta High School! Alpharetta has long had a reputation for excellence in music making, and I am excited to continue to build on that reputation.
I have long respected the work of Dr. Laux and Mr. Fisher, who are both widely known as pillars in the Music Education community. I am inspired by them, both as wonderful teachers and thoughtful musicians. I am tremendously excited to work with Dr. James Barket at Webb Bridge Middle School and Teresa Hoebeke at Hopewell Middle School. I know that together, we can create a comprehensive orchestra program for all students, sixth grade through high school graduation.
I am humbled to receive the vote of confidence from Dr. Kersey, Mr. Scheifflee, Ms. Magill, and the entire hiring committee, and for entrusting me with the keys to such a celebrated program. Their hard work and dedication to the Fine Arts Programs at Alpharetta High School were apparent from the very beginning of the interview process and has continued through the summer as I’ve begun work in the orchestra room to prepare for the school year. I would also like to thank the Alpharetta High School Orchestra Association president, Eddice Nguyen, for her dedication to the orchestra program; her help and expertise has made my transition to Alpharetta High School as smooth as I could have asked for.
While I am excited to continue traditions that support Alpharetta High School and the Alpharetta Community, I am committed to the long-term future of the orchestra program and excited to build a professional musical culture that focuses on individual student growth, community outreach, and chamber music. It has always been a focus of my teaching philosophy to prepare students who are independent, critical thinkers and musical problem solvers. I hope for us to build an orchestra full of performers at AHS who can not only play any style of music, but play with thoughtful musicality and excellent playing technique. Most of all, I aim to foster a love for music in all students and encourage them to be a little bit better than they were yesterday.
I look forward to meeting, working with, and making music with each of you. Have a wonderful remainder of your summer, and I will see you soon!
Kind regards (now go practice!),
Jake Hood
Director of Orchestras at Alpharetta High School