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Jon Kimura Parker
piano

Pianist Jon Kimura Parker is known for his charisma, enthusiasm, and dynamic performances. A veteran of the international concert stage, he has performed regularly in the Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall, London’s South Bank, the Sydney Opera House, and the Beijing Concert Hall. He is the Creative Partner of the Minnesota Orchestra, having hosted and given seven concerto performances with them in 2021 with Osmo Vänska, Karina Canellakis, and Ken-David Masur. He is Artistic Director of the Honens International Piano Competition and Artistic Advisor for the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival.

A collaborator in a wide variety of styles, Jon Kimura Parker has performed with Doc Severinsen, Audra McDonald, Bobby McFerrin, Pablo Ziegler, and Sanjaya Malakar. As a founding member of Off the Score, he also performed with Stewart Copeland – the legendary drummer of The Police – for the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival’s 20th Anniversary Season, featuring his own arrangements of music by Prokofiev, Ravel, and Stravinsky. He has accompanied Frederica von Stade, Susan Graham, and Luca Pisaroni in recital.

A committed educator, Jon is Professor of Piano at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. His students have won prizes in major competitions internationally, and given concerto performances in the US, Europe, Russia, and China. He has also lectured at The Juilliard School, and given masterclasses at Yale. This season he also chaired the jury of the Hilton Head International Piano Competition.

Jon's discography of a dozen albums features music ranging from Mozart and Chopin to Barber, Stravinsky, and John Adams. His most recent recording Fantasy, built around Hirtz’s Wizard of Oz Fantasy, was described by Musical Toronto as giving “a big, clear picture window of a rich soul and great artistic depth.” His YouTube channel features a series of Concerto Chat videos, which explore the piano concerto repertoire. In addition, his Whole Notes series, featuring performances of great composers, is available on Amazon Prime Video. He is now recording masterclass videos for Tonebase on major works of the piano concerto repertoire.

Jon studied with Edward Parker, Keiko Parker, and Lee Kum-Sing at the Vancouver Academy of Music and the University of British Columbia; Marek Jablonski at the Banff Centre; and Adele Marcus at The Juilliard School. Winner of the Gold Medal at the 1984 Leeds International Piano Competition, Jon is an Officer of The Order of Canada and has received Honorary Doctorates from the University of British Columbia and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

Known to friends – new and old – as “Jackie,” Parker is married to violinist/violist Aloysia Friedmann, and their daughter Sophie graduated from Rice University in 2021.

Jon Kimura Parker
piano

Pianist Jon Kimura Parker is known for his charisma, enthusiasm, and dynamic performances. A veteran of the international concert stage, he has performed regularly in the Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall, London’s South Bank, the Sydney Opera House, and the Beijing Concert Hall. He is the Creative Partner of the Minnesota Orchestra, having hosted and given seven concerto performances with them in 2021 with Osmo Vänska, Karina Canellakis, and Ken-David Masur. He is Artistic Director of the Honens International Piano Competition and Artistic Advisor for the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival.

A collaborator in a wide variety of styles, Jon Kimura Parker has performed with Doc Severinsen, Audra McDonald, Bobby McFerrin, Pablo Ziegler, and Sanjaya Malakar. As a founding member of Off the Score, he also performed with Stewart Copeland – the legendary drummer of The Police – for the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival’s 20th Anniversary Season, featuring his own arrangements of music by Prokofiev, Ravel, and Stravinsky. He has accompanied Frederica von Stade, Susan Graham, and Luca Pisaroni in recital.

A committed educator, Jon is Professor of Piano at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. His students have won prizes in major competitions internationally, and given concerto performances in the US, Europe, Russia, and China. He has also lectured at The Juilliard School, and given masterclasses at Yale. This season he also chaired the jury of the Hilton Head International Piano Competition.

Jon's discography of a dozen albums features music ranging from Mozart and Chopin to Barber, Stravinsky, and John Adams. His most recent recording Fantasy, built around Hirtz’s Wizard of Oz Fantasy, was described by Musical Toronto as giving “a big, clear picture window of a rich soul and great artistic depth.” His YouTube channel features a series of Concerto Chat videos, which explore the piano concerto repertoire. In addition, his Whole Notes series, featuring performances of great composers, is available on Amazon Prime Video. He is now recording masterclass videos for Tonebase on major works of the piano concerto repertoire.

Jon studied with Edward Parker, Keiko Parker, and Lee Kum-Sing at the Vancouver Academy of Music and the University of British Columbia; Marek Jablonski at the Banff Centre; and Adele Marcus at The Juilliard School. Winner of the Gold Medal at the 1984 Leeds International Piano Competition, Jon is an Officer of The Order of Canada and has received Honorary Doctorates from the University of British Columbia and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

Known to friends – new and old – as “Jackie,” Parker is married to violinist/violist Aloysia Friedmann, and their daughter Sophie graduated from Rice University in 2021.