Born and raised in Arlington, Texas, Jonathan started his piano studies with Carolyn Savko at the age of five. Under the tutelage of Carol Leone, Jonathan earned a Bachelors of Music with Honors at the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University (SMU). While at SMU, he was the recipient of the van Katwijk Award, the Roy and Sue Johnson Award, and the Mu Phi Epsilon Award. Jonathan entered l'Université de Montréal in 2005 as a Masters of Music student of Marc Durand, and through a special program will commence doctorate studies in 2006.
Jonathan has participated in the TCU/Cliburn Piano Institute in Fort Worth, Le Centre d'arts Orford in Quebec, and the Banff International Keyboard Festival. Through these institutes Jonathan has received instruction from some of the premier musicians from around the world, including JoaquÃn Achúcarro, Boris Berman, Jerome Lowenthal, John Perry, Boris Petrushansky, Abbey Simon, Arnold Steinhardt, and Tamas Ungar.
Jonathan has remained active as a chamber musician; he was the first pianist to participate in The Institute for Strings, a chamber music intensive program founded by Dallas Symphony Orchestra violinist Jan Sloman. Of an appearance in a concert with violinist Stirling Trent, Scott Cantrell (The Dallas Morning News) writes: "Their impeccable performance... was the afternoon's highlight." Jonathan has been a featured soloist with orchestras including the Fort Worth Youth Orchestra, the Houston School for the Performing and Visual Arts Orchestra, and the Meadows Symphony Orchestra.
First prize in the 4th annual Concours de musique de Repentigny (2006), Jonathan will have his Canadian solo debut in the upcoming concert season. He was a top prizewinner in the collegiate division of the Janice K. Hodges Contemporary Piano Performance Award, and was also a top prizewinner in both solo and concerto divisions of the Texas Music Teachers Association (TMTA) piano competitions. He is also the winner of the South Central division of the 2004-2005 Music Teachers National Association Young Artists Piano competition and was a national finalist. Recent performances include repeat appearances in Musical Awakenings, a series of educational recitals sponsored by the Van Cliburn Foundation, and a performance with orchestra at the TMTA State Convention in June 2005.
Jonathan's other musical backgrounds include violin studies with Irene Lau, percussion studies with Joey Carter, composition studies with Simon Sargon and David Karp, and conducting lessons with Jack Delaney and Paul Phillips. Jonathan served as pianist, violinist, violist, and percussionist for the Fort Worth Youth Orchestra, where he also won the Young Artists Award. Jonathan composed the score to Shadow of the Plains, a documentary which was presented at the 29th annual International Wildlife Film Festival in May 2006.
