Music and Choir

Jonathan’s first formal experience with music was a long involvement with a community church choir as a small child. This group instilled from a very young age a loving and passionate relationship with music. Not only did he learn the basics of music theory and harmony in a hands-on way, he also gained a respect for the amount of work necessary to perform at a high level and the knowledge that great beauty can be created by anyone who cares enough to try.

After leaving the choir his parents bought him a saxophone, which became his primary instrument of study, but he also studied cello for two years in elementary school, took piano lessons on and off throughout childhood as well as in his post-secondary studies, studied flute and clarinet briefly while at McGill, and, like most boys growing up in the latter half of the 20th Century, played guitar in several bands through his teens and twenties.

As much as Jonathan was passionate about music and showed potential as a child, if it hadn’t been for the influence of several educational figures in his teens he would not have thought to pursue music after high school. This has led him to realize the importance of passing on his love of music to others. While this is his first foray into an elementary classroom, he has taught privately on and off for more than fifteen years, and has conducted workshops on saxophone, jazz performance, and composition across Ontario and Quebec.

As a professional musician Jonathan has performed in every imaginable style of contemporary music in venues from small clubs to soft-seat theatres and arenas to large outdoor venues, travelling extensively across Canada and the US. He has also recorded on close to 40 albums and written, performed and recorded music for television and stage.