Jacob Nissly joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Percussion in 2013.  Previously, he was principal percussion of the Cleveland Orchestra and the Detroit Symphony. He also spent two years as a fellow in the New World Symphony. 
Nissly is chair of the Percussion Department and professor of percussion at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He is also a regular coach at the New World Symphony. He previously taught at the Eastman School of Music and Cleveland Institute of Music.  He has served as a percussion coach for the Aspen Music Festival since 2019, National Youth Orchestra-USA, Verbier Festival, and others. 
Nissly can be heard on recordings with the San Francisco Symphony and the Cleveland Orchestra. He also played drum set on the St. Louis Symphony's Grammy award-winning recording of John Adams' City Noir.   
In 2019, Nissly premiered Adam Schoenberg’s percussion concerto Losing Earth with the San Francisco Symphony. He has performed the piece with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Omaha Symphony and will perform it with the Nuremberg Symphony in 2026. 
Nissly holds a Bachelor of Music and Jazz Studies degree from Northwestern University and Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School. He endorses Vic Firth drumsticks, Zildjian cymbals, Kolberg percussion, and Remo drumheads. 
For more on Jacob Nissly, visit sfsymphony.org/jacobnissly.