B i o g r a p h y
Based in York, Jonathan is a versatile musician who divides his time between orchestral playing, chamber music, solo performance, pit work and teaching. As a concerto soloist he has appeared with orchestras including the London Mozart Players, Dartington Festival Orchestra, Scarborough Symphony Orchestra, Ergodos Orchestra and the orchestra of York Musical Society. He has given recitals throughout Europe and at festivals including the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Dartington International Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe. As an orchestral musician, he performs with the London Mozart Players, New Mozart Orchestra, British Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and the Scarborough Spa Orchestra; and as a chamber musician he performs regularly with groups including the Keats String Quartet, the Dr K Sextet and the Ergodos Musicians, with whom he has recorded extensively and toured in Europe and the USA.
Jonathan is a passionate advocate of contemporary music, regularly commissioning composers and premiering their work. In 2013 he gave the first performance of Garrett Sholdice’s concerto for basset clarinet and in 2019, premiered Sholdice’s Eighteen Cadences for basset clarinet and string quartet. Jonathan is also a founder member of the contemporary music group Dark Inventions, with whom he has toured and recorded extensively, as well as broadcasting live on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune.
Jonathan’s debut disc, Counterpoint - featuring Steve Reich’s New York Counterpoint - has received critical acclaim and radio play around the world, including on BBC Radio 3. His second disc, Strange Machines, is due for release in the autumn of 2019.
Jonathan teaches clarinet at the University of York and at schools in and around the city. He has given recital lectures at Trinity College Dublin, Dundalk Institute of Technology and the Northern School of Contemporary Dance.
Aside from clarinets, Jonathan doubles on all saxophones and also the bassoon. He regularly works in show pits in the North of England.
