Guest Artist Bio
Jon Kimura Parker
Pianist Jon Kimura Parker's career has taken him from Carnegie Hall and London's Royal Festival Hall to Zimbabwe. In recent seasons, Parker has performed as guest soloist with the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic, the NHK Tokyo Orchestra and with major orchestra in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Montreal, San Diego, Salt Lake City and Toronto. This season Parker performs as concerto soloist with 15 symphony orchestras in North America, including his first Oregon Symphony appearance since 2000.
A committed educator, Parker is professor of piano at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston. Parker is also the E. Stephen Purdom Distinguished Visiting Artist at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University, as well as honorary co-chair of the Piano Pedagogy Research Laboratory at the University of Ottawa in Canada. He has given master classes and lectures at The Juilliard School, the Steans Institute and Yale University.
Parker is also the artistic adviser of the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival. "Jackie" Parker received all of his early education in Canada, training with his uncle, Edward Parker and his mother, Keiko Parker. He studied with Lee Kum-Sing at the Vancouver Academy of Music and University of British Columbia, Marek Jablonski at The Banff Centre and with Adele Marcus at The Juilliard School, where he received his doctorate. He won the Gold Medal at the 1984 Leeds International Piano Competition.
Parker has given two command performances for Queen Elizabeth II, special performances for the United States Supreme Court, and has performed for the prime ministers of Canada and Japan. He is an officer of the Order of Canada, his country's highest civilian honor.
Parker has recorded for Telarc with Yoel Levi, Andre Previn and Peter Schickele. He was born, raised and educated in Vancouver. He lives in Houston with his wife, violinist Aloysia Friedmann, and their daughter Sophie. More information on the web: kimura.com and oicmf.org.