Jacob Jonker holds a Master's Degree in Classical Guitar Performance from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, and a Bachelor's from the University of Wisconsin - River Falls. His principal teachers were Jeffrey Van and Joe Hagedorn.
Jacob is also a former Schubert Club and Thursday Musical Prize winner, and has performed as a featured local artist for the Minnesota Guitar Society. He has collaborated with the MGS to bring world-class guitarists to UMD's Weber Hall.
As a registered Suzuki guitar instructor, Jacob has received pedagogy training with David Madsen, William Kossler and Andrea Cannon. He is the first guitar instructor to teach for the Lake Superior Suzuki Talent Education Program (LS-STEP).
Outside of the academic world, Jacob is an active member of Duluth's independent music scene, performing with local songwriters and in his own band, "The Formal Age". He has also composed and performed several original works for both classical and steel-string guitar.