Violist Jonathan Morgan is in high demand as a chamber musician, recitalist, orchestral musician, and teacher of both Viola and Violin.  Jonathan has served on the Preparatory and Continuing Education faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music immediately upon graduating from the same institution and is currently the violin instructor at the Peabody Charter School in Santa Barbara, California.  For the 2011 season, Jonathan’s engagements include the Opera in the Ozarks where he has recently been appointed as Principal Violist for the summer 2011 festival season.  For the 2009-2010 season Jonathan has served as a substitute member of both the Santa Fe and New Mexico Symphony Orchestras as well as an appearance as guest Assistant Principal viola with the Amarillo Symphony.  Jonathan was also appointed to the viola section of the Missouri Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Kirk Trevor in the summer of 2009.  Jonathan’s most recent chamber music appearances have included performances with the Church of Beethoven and as a member of the Adagio Strings aboard Holland America Cruise Line’s MS Zuiderdam, where he toured Panama, Costa Rica, and the Islands of Aruba, Curacao, and Half Moon Cay performing chamber music ranging from the classics to Broadway and beyond.

Jonathan is an alumnus of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Viola Performance, and the Cleveland Institute of Music where he graduated with his Master of Music degree in Viola Performance.  His teachers and mentors include Victoria Chiang, Richard Field, Jeffrey Irvine, Lynne Ramsey, William Preucil, Peter Salaff, and the Cavani String Quartet.  Jonathan is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree as a pupil of Helen Callus at the University of California Santa Barbara.

In addition to life as a performing musician and teacher, Jonathan enjoys working behind the scenes in an administrative capacity as the Director of Artistic Operations for the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra.

Jonathan plays on a beautiful modern viola patterned after the work of the Amati family, which he commissioned from the New York Luthier Guy Rabut in 2006.  His bow is by the modern master Bernard Walke of Ontario Canada.

Jonathan has participated in internationally recognized music festivals including the Texas Music Festival as an orchestral fellowship recipient, Le Domaine Forget, the Brevard Music Center and the Yehudi Menuhin Chamber Music Seminar where Jonathan was a recipient of string quartet fellowships as part of the Heiligenstadt and Marrakesh Quartets respectively, the Banff Centre where he was part of impromptu recordings later used in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremony, and the Missouri Symphony’s Hot Summer Nights festival in 2009.  This summer Jonathan will perform as Principal Violist with the Opera in the Ozarks.  Additionally Jonathan will participate in the Montecito Summer Music Festival as a recipient of the Viola Fellowship.

Jonathan’s natural ability and extensive experience as a teacher have been equally rewarding for him as his students have been selected to participate in such organizations as the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, the Akron Youth Symphony, and the Solon Philharmonic.  Specializing in youth and adult musical education, Jonathan’s chamber music students have performed numerous community outreach performances and recitals.