Jonathan Tsay - pianist (biographie en français)
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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 has pursued doctorate studies since 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 Joaquín 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 made his Canadian solo debut during the following 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 (MTNA) Young
Artists Piano competition and was a national finalist. Recent and upcoming performances
include repeat appearances in Musical Awakenings, a series of educational
recitals sponsored by the Van Cliburn Foundation, and a performance with the new music ensemble Voices of Change.
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 has composed scores to multiple documentaries; most recently he wrote music for Parker Brown’s exploration into college smoking entitled DRAG, which can be found on internet podcasts and public broadcasts throughout the US.
Jonathan also participated in various extra-curricular
activities including football, track-and-field, and Teen Court. He was a three-time
winner of the Eagle Award, given out yearly to the top competitor in the Traditional
Karate League. In his spare time, Jonathan enjoys playing football,
maintaining his website (www.jonathantsay.com), and
watching cartoons. His long-term goals include purchasing a small island at
the US/Canadian border with his close friends and building a summer haven
there.
Principal teachers – Carolyn Savko, Carol
Leone
Private Lessons – Joaquín Achúcarro,
Alessio Bax, Jimmy Brière
Masterclasses – Arnulf von Arnim, Maurizio
Baglini, Joseph Banowetz, Boris Berman, Hans Boepple, Henri Brassard, Stanislav
Ioudenitch, Phillip Kawin, David Korevaar, Krassimira Jordan, Anton Kuerti,
Jerome Lowenthal, Harold Martina, Alfred Mouledous, John Perry, Abbey Simon,
Wolfgang Watzinger, William Wolfwram, Tamas Ungar
Chamber Music - Chris Adkins, Nathaniel Rosen, Rebecca Seiver, Jan Sloman, Arnold Steinhardt, Ko Iwasaki.