Artistic Director

Jon Kimura Parker

Known for his passionate artistry and engaging stage presence, with multiple solo appearances at the Berlin Philharmonie, London’s South Bank, the Sydney Opera House, and the Beijing Concert Hall, Jon Kimura Parker continues to perform to great acclaim. In the past two seasons Mr. Parker appeared at Carnegie Hall in Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3, and was guest soloist at the Kennedy Center in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue conducted by Gianandrea Noseda and streamed on medici.tv. He also performed Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 with Jeffrey Kahane and LACO, the Grieg Concerto with Bramwell Tovey and the New York Philharmonic, Gershwin’s Concerto in F with James Gaffigan and the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Bernstein’s Age of Anxiety with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony.

As a founding member of Off the Score, Mr. Parker performs with legendary Police drummer Stewart Copeland, featuring his own arrangements of music by Prokofiev, Ravel, and Stravinsky. He also tours as a founding member of the Montrose Trio, with violinist Martin Beaver and cellist Clive Greensmith.

His YouTube channel features the Concerto Chat videos, covering the piano concerto repertoire. Mr. Parker is Professor of Piano at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston, and has lectured at The Juilliard School, Yale, and Princeton. He is the founding Artistic Advisor of the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, and is an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Mr. Parker has recorded for Telarc and CBC, and on his own label. His recent CD Fantasy features Fantasies of Schubert and Schumann, as well as the sensational Wizard of Oz Fantasy by William Hirtz, receiving this praise from Classical Candor: “The reading is riveting. Parker scores with another favorite recording of the year.”

“Jackie” Parker studied in Vancouver with Edward Parker and Keiko Parker, 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. He won the Gold Medal at the 1984 Leeds International Piano Competition. He lives in Houston with his wife, violinist Aloysia Friedmann and their daughter Sophie. For further information, please see www.jonkimuraparker.com.