Elliot Jacobson '06 was an arts administration major from Houston, Texas. In this profile, Elliot talks about music and business, internships, touring with Ingrid Michaelson, and more. (Production by Anna Mulé; concert footage courtesy Elliot Jacobson)
Elliot Jacobson ’06, a student from Houston, Texas, arrived at Wagner College full of big ideas. Through the experiences he had here, Jacobson was able to narrow down what he wanted to do after graduation.
An arts administration major, Jacobson found Wagner’s Learning Communities a key component to his success. Learning Communities are clusters of courses linked together by a single theme that share a common set of students. The two professors in an LC plan their courses with overlapping assignments, common readings and joint problems so that courses share common ground.
Jacobson recalls that his freshman LC, which combined music and literature, helped set the stage for what would come throughout his Wagner career. The combination of concepts like music business and music performance helped him develop a deeper understanding of the music industry.
With the help of Wagner’s career development office, Jacobson landed internships at Sony Music, Atlantic Records and Universal.
“It was a really big help to learn, while still in school, how to work in the professional world. When I got out of Wagner, I already understood how the real world was working,” said Jacobson.
While enrolled at Wagner, Jacobson met indie pop singer-songwriter and Staten Island native Ingrid Michaelson. The two hit it off, and the next thing Jacobson knew, he was playing drums on Michaelson’s first record. As he tried to balance two lives — one as a drummer, the other working at a music publishing company — Jacobson “took the leap” and turned his career as a drummer into a full-time role, playing drums for Michaelson and other artists.